The Chinese state media on Monday reported a new strategic highway in Tibet will connect the region to Nepal which can be used for military purposes and further open up South Asia to the communist nation.
According to experts, the road can be used as a runway for military aircraft if required. The road will be of strategic importance for both economic and defence purposes.
The state media also said India might be 'irritated' by the development.
India is always disgusted when neighbouring countries attempt to get closer to China, said Zhao Gancheng, director of the Centre for Asia-Pacific Studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies.
"The Tibet highway between Xigaze airport and Xigaze city centre officially opened to the public on Friday, a short section linking the national highway to the Nepal border which experts said will enable China to forge a route into South Asia in both economic and defence terms," the Global Times reported.
The 40.4-km highway will reduce the travel time from one hour to 30 minutes between the airport and Tibet's second-largest city.
Zhao Gancheng added, "As part of G318, the highway connects the border town of Zhangmu with Lhasa, the capital city of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. It can link with the future cross-border Sino-Nepali railway."
"The Sino-Nepali railway was part of a deal struck by Nepal deputy Prime Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara when he visited China in early September. The railway includes two lines: one connecting three of Nepal's most important cities and two crossing the border between China and Nepal," the People's Daily stated.
Wei Qianggao, deputy head of the Tibet transportation department termed the development as Tibet's first real highway and called it their gift towards the upcoming 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
The road will benefit the export economy of Xigaze and the complex traffic around Lhasa, Wei added.
Nepal's deputy prime minister Mahara earlier said their country is fully committed to pushing forward cooperation with China under the Belt and Road Initiative. He was in China for a six-day official visit earlier this month, Hindustan Times reported.
"We have already signed the memorandum of understanding on participating in the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China," Mahara told official Xinhua news agency.
