Nepal’s foreign minister begins China visit
Nepal’s Foreign Minister begins a trip to China today.
Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba is scheduled to meet with her Chinese counterpart in Beijing to finalize the necessary arrangements and preparations for Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli’s upcoming visit to China, which is planned for the first week of December.
Despite the long-standing history of left-wing governments in Nepal, it has only recently become closer with China under PM Oli and has increased its participation in international forums aligned with anti-imperialism views. This leaves Nepal in a complex situation given India is its main source of investment.
As such, in the short term expect the visit to further cooperation between Nepal and China in areas of infrastructure and energy. In addition, the visit will likely serve as an opportunity to prepare a draft framework Belt and Road Initiative agreement, despite internal feud regarding possible terms of such agreement. In the past, Nepal has obtained grants from the China International Development Cooperation Agency and the China Exim Bank but has had difficulty generating sufficient income from projects. As such, in the medium term, expect Nepal to continue advocating for debt relief to partner further with China under the Belt and Road Initiative implementation plan.
