China plans to build rail link with Nepal via tunnel under Mt Everest

China plans to build a 540-kilometre high-speed rail link between Tibet and Nepal, passing through a tunnel under Mt Everest, a move that could raise alarm in India about the Communist giant's growing influence in its neighbourhood.

"A proposed extension of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway to the China-Nepal border through Tibet would boost bilateral trade and tourism, as there is currently no rail line linking the two countries," state-run China Daily reported on Thursday.

The rail line was expected to be completed by 2020.

However, there was no word on the cost of the project.

The 1,956-km Qinghai-Tibet railway already links the rest of China with the Tibetan capital Lhasa and beyond.

Wang Mengshu, a rail expert at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said engineers will face a number of difficulties once the project begins.

"If the proposal becomes reality, bilateral trade, especially in agricultural products, will get a strong boost, along with tourism and people-to-people exchanges," he said.

Such a plan could see a tunnel being built under Mount Everest, the China Daily said.