China and Nepal jointly announced the new height of Mount Everest, known as Mount Qomolangma in China, as 8848.86 metres on Tuesday, ending years of debate over the three-metre difference that the two neighbours have on the world's highest peak.
Announcing the new height of Mount Everest carries the significance of connecting the past and building the future, said Chinese President Xi Jinping, hailing it as signalling the high-level development of the bilateral relationship, reports Global Times.
Chinese President Xi and his Nepalese counterpart Bidya Devi Bhandari exchanged letters to jointly announce the height of Mount Everest.
Xi noted that Mount Everest is an important symbol of friendship between the two countries from generation to generation.
The two countries established the world's highest peak as the boundary peak between China and Nepal and the "China-Nepal friendship peak."
Xi vowed to work with Nepal to actively promote ecological and environmental protection and scientific research cooperation on Mount Everest, and protect the common treasure and homeland of the two peoples,
The previous calculation by Chinese researchers from a 2005 survey stands at 8,844 metres, while Nepal said it was a little taller, at 8,847 metres.
The three-metre gap, to be closed in the upcoming announcement, was caused by the difference in measuring methods, with China calculating the "rock height" underneath the snow, while Nepal measured the "snow height" which included the snowcap.
Earthquakes that took place in the nearby region have also affected the height of the mountain, experts noted. But the extent of the impact the 2015 Nepalese earthquake had on the mountain's height, with its epicentre 200 kilometres away, has not been verified in the international community.
Reaching a consensus on the issue reflects the two countries' mutual respect and willingness to extend cooperation by promoting information sharing, observers noted on Monday.
Mount Everest can be seen as a symbol of friendship between the two countries. Rather than surveying the height separately, China and Nepal agreed on a unified result, similar to the mountain's area division.
Analysts noted that the result could also give great value to the study of the Earth's geodynamic plate motion. Data such as peak snow depth, weather and wind speed will provide first-hand information for research on glacier monitoring and ecological environment protection.
The Chinese measurement team made another successful journey to the peak of Mount Everest on May 27, following a joint statement signed in 2019 by the two countries saying they would conduct scientific research and reach a consensus on the stature of the mountain during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Nepal's capital city Kathmandu.
5G communication technology was used, with China's telecom giant China Mobile and Huawei providing end-to-end solutions during their ascent. Many of China's homegrown new technology applications, including the BeiDou Satellite Navigation System, were also adopted to ensure that the country's latest trip to re-measure the height of Mt Qomolangma went smoothly.
Nepal is home to more than 320 mountains that are open for tourist expeditions and eight of the world's 14 tallest mountains. But Mt Qomolangma is the main attraction, bringing in more than $300 million in revenues last year.
