National
Beijing says no change in its Nepal policy
China has assured Nepal that the recent change in Nepal’s political order will not affect Nepal-China relationship.Sanjeev Giri
China has assured Nepal that the recent change in Nepal’s political order will not affect Nepal-China relationship.
During a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Krishna Bahadur Mahara, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that political changes in Nepal will not impact China’s policy towards Nepal, referring to the recent regime change in Kathmandu, in which CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on August 3 succeeded KP Sharma Oli as the prime minister. “China is ready to support Nepal in multiple areas,” Mahara quoted Wang as saying.
“I informed the Chinese side that the newly formed government in Nepal would put strong emphasis on strengthening relationship with both China and India and that the agreements and understandings reached [with China] during the tenure of former prime minister Oli would be implemented gradually,” Mahara told the Post.
“China expects that all political forces in Nepal will strengthen unity and jointly advance Nepal’s peace, stability and development,” Wang said, according to Reuters news agency. He said China “hoped to carry out the consensus already reached by the two countries’ leaders” and deepen cross-border transport, trade and energy cooperation, Reuters reported, quoting Chinese Foreign Ministry statement.
Nepal and China signed several deals in the areas of trade, cross-border transport and energy cooperation, including permission for Nepal to use Chinese railways, roads and ports to trade with third countries, during former prime minister Oli’s visit to Beijing in March.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Mahara also handed over invitation letters sent by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to their Chinese counterparts Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang. DPM Mahara, who is in Beijing as a special envoy of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, will also seek to secure Chines President’s Xi Jinping’s visit to Nepal, most likely in October. There has not been any visit from Chinese president to Nepal since 1996 when Jiang Zemin had landed in Kathmandu. Former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had travelled to Nepal in 2012 for a half-day stopover.
According to Mahara, the Chinese side has given positive response to Nepal’s invitations. “We are optimistic about positive response from the offices of the Chinese president and premier,” Mahara said.
The Mahara-Wang meeting, which lasted for around an hour and a half, was followed by a luncheon hosted by the Chinese Foreign Ministry in honour of DPM Mahara.
'The newly formed government in Nepal will put strong emphasis on strengthening relationship with both China and India'
-DPM Krishna Bahadur Mahara
'China expects that all political forces in Nepal will strengthen unity and jointly advance Nepal’s peace, stability and development'
-Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi