By Our Diplomatic Analyst
Chinese State Councilor and Minister for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi returned home on Sunday wrapping up his three-day visit to Nepal.
During his three-day stay in Kathmandu, the Chinese leader, who arrived in Kathmandu on Friday after visiting Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, called on President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and hold bilateral talks with Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Narayan Khadka.
He also met with CPN (Maoist Centre) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and CPN (UML) chairman KP Sharma Oli.
Wang’s was the highest-level visit to Nepal by a Chinese delegation since Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba assumed office in July 2021, which also came after Nepal ratified $500 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant from the US.
During his meeting with President Bhandari and Prime Minister Deuba, Chinese FM Wang stressed that China opposes any attempt to undermine Nepal’s sovereignty and independence, interfere in its internal affairs and engage in geopolitical games in the country.
Prime Minister Deuba and Foreign Minister Dr. Khadka assured the Chinese leaders that Nepal will not allow anyone to use Nepali soil to run any anti-China activity.
President Bhandari said that Nepal will always be committed to developing friendly relations with China, and thanked China for its help with Nepal’s economic and social development. She said that Nepal is willing to work with China to promote the Belt and Road Initiative in the country.
Wang responded to the President stating that China and Nepal have been good friends for thousands of years, have always supported each other and set an example of win-win cooperation between large and small countries.
“We are glad to see that friendship with China has become a social consensus that transcends all parties in Nepal,” The Global Times quoted Wang.
Dahal and Oli during their meeting with Wang stressed the implementation of the BRI. However, Prime Minister Deuba and Foreign Minister Khadka reportedly told the Chinese Minister that Nepal would accept only grants, not loans under BRI. Clearly, only the communist leaders, including President Bhandari, favoured BRI signed in 2017 while NC leaders showed their reluctance to the BRI project. This is why BRI was not mentioned in the nine-point agreement signed during Wang’s visit.
During the bilateral talks, Dr. Khadka and Wang discussed all important aspects of Nepal-China relations and cooperation. “They underscored the importance of the exchange of high-level visits on a regular basis in order to strengthen mutual trust and confidence and to further consolidate Nepal-China relations,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) in its statement.
FM Dr. Khadka reiterated Nepal’s commitment to the One China policy and not to allow any activity against China in Nepali territory. Both sides reaffirmed their support for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national independence of each other.
Dr. Khadka appreciated the Chinese government’s efforts for consistently supporting Nepal’s development endeavours, and thanked it for the completion of development projects such as the Araniko Highway Long-term Opening Maintenance Project (Phase III) and Pokhara International Regional Airport.
The two Foreign Ministers also underscored the need for concerted efforts from both sides to expedite the execution of ongoing projects as well as to implement the agreements and understandings reached between the two countries during high-level visits, read the statement.
FM Wang assured that China will be providing development assistance committed to Nepal by President Xi Jinping during his State Visit to Nepal in October 2019.
The two foreign ministers stressed the need to have continued partnership in order to overcome the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and to focus on COVID-19 response and recovery.
According to the MoFA, the two ministers underscored the need for fully operationalising the Tatopani/Zhangmu and Rasuwagadi/Kerung border ports for the two-way movement of goods between Nepal and China.
Underlining the importance of continuously maintaining the Nepal-China border peaceful and tranquil in the spirit of the Boundary treaty, the two foreign ministers agreed to carry out a joint inspection of the Nepal-China boundary through mutual consultation.
FM Wang assured Dr. Khadka of the full cooperation of the Chinese government to facilitate the return of Nepali students to China to continue their studies on a priority basis and agreed to start the process at the earliest.
The two Ministers also discussed continuing cooperation in various regional and multilateral forums on matters of mutual interests.
As per the Agreement on Economic & Technical Cooperation, China has agreed to provide Nepal with a grant of RMB 600 million for the year 2020. The grant will be utilised for the projects mutually agreed upon between the two Governments.
Wang had arrived in Kathmandu on Friday for a three-day official visit to Nepal leading a 20-member delegation at the invitation of Foreign Minister Dr. Khadka.
Earlier, Wang had made a 3-day sojourn to Nepal in 2019 September, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit China and the world.
Nepal-China ink nine agreements
Nepal and China have inked nine agreements during the three-day Nepal visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Narayan Khadka and State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China Wang Yi witnessed the signing of the agreement after holding official talks in Singh Durbar, Kathmandu on Saturday.
The nine-point agreement signed between Nepal and China include agreements for economic and technical cooperation for the feasibility study of the inter-country railway project, maintenance of Arniko Highway (third phase), and cooperation in the railway sector.
Similarly, Nepal’s grass export to China, duty-free transaction of 98 per cent of goods from China in Nepal, supplying 4 million doses of Sinovac vaccine to Nepal, and sending a team of Chinese doctors to BP Koirala Cancer Hospital in Bharatpur Chitwan are other components of the bilateral agreement.
The agreements are as follow:
- Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation
- Technical Assistance Scheme for China-Aid Feasibility Study of China-Nepal Cross-Border Railway Project
- Cooperation Agreement on the Feasibility Study of Nepal-China Power Grid Interconnection
- Protocol on the Safety and Health Conditions for the Export of Haylage from Nepal to China
- Exchange of letters on duty-free treatment to be provided by China to goods of Nepali origin covering 98% tariff lines
- Handover Certificate of Araniko Highway Maintenance Project (Phase III)
- Minutes of the Seventh Meeting between Nepal and China on Enhancing Cooperation in the Railway Sector
- Protocol on Sending a Chinese Medical Team to Work in Nepal at B.P. Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital
- Delivery And Acceptance Certificate of China Aid Covid-19 Vaccine to Nepal (Fifth and Sixth Batches) of four million Vero cell vaccines
As per the Agreement on Economic & Technical Cooperation, China has agreed to provide Nepal with a grant of RMB 600 million for the year 2020. The grant will be utilised for the projects mutually agreed upon between the two governments
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