-- The new height of Mount Qomolangma, the world's highest peak, is 8,848.86 meters, according to a joint announcement by China and Nepal.

-- Chinese President Xi Jinping, exchanging letters with his Nepali counterpart Bidya Devi Bhandari on Tuesday, called Mount Qomolangma "an important symbol of the China-Nepal traditional friendship."

-- Bhandari said Nepal and China have always been good neighbors, friends and partners.

The new height of Mount Qomolangma, the world's highest peak, is 8,848.86 meters, according to a joint announcement by China and Nepal on Tuesday.

The figure, including the height of the snowcap, was confirmed by surveyors from the two countries, which reached a consensus last year to jointly declare the remeasured height of the peak and conduct scientific research on it.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, exchanging letters with his Nepali counterpart Bidya Devi Bhandari on Tuesday, called Mount Qomolangma "an important symbol of the China-Nepal traditional friendship."

For more than a year, the two countries' survey teams have overcome all kinds of difficulties, solidly carried out their work, and finally reached a conclusion on the snow height based on the International Height Reference System, he said.

A Chinese survey team reached the summit of Mount Qomolangma on May 27 and remeasured the peak height. The team members remained at the summit for two and a half hours, a new record for Chinese climbers. Nepali surveyors reached the top of the mountain in May 2019.

A Chinese surveyor conducts surveying atop Mount Qomolangma on May 27, 2020. The new height of Mount Qomolangma, the world's highest peak, is 8,848.86 meters, China and Nepal jointly announced on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Tashi Tsering)

The joint announcement of the new peak height is of great significance in carrying forward the undertakings of the predecessors to the future and showcasing the high level of the continuous development of China-Nepal relations, Xi noted.

Khim Lal Gautam, who had scaled Mount Qomolangma in May 2019 for the Nepali measurement, said he is extremely happy to see both the countries endorsing the new height together.

"The technical teams from both sides sat together sharing their data and information before reaching a conclusion," he told Xinhua. "This is an example of technical collaboration between the two countries."

He said it is a good move that the two countries linked by mountains have joined hand in hand to have an uniformity in the height of Mount Qomolangma, which attracts the world's attention.