Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi lands in Nepal to boost bilateral ties

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday reached Nepal on a three-day official visit to the Himalayan nation.

"State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PRC Mr. Wang Yi arrived in Kathmandu this afternoon for a three-day official visit. The visiting dignitary was accorded warm welcome by Foreign Secretary Mr. Bharat Raj Paudyal at TIA," Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a tweet.

In a whirlwind tour, Wang landed today in Nepal after a visit to India. He had come to India after visiting Kabul following his participation at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meet in Islamabad.

Wang's Nepal visit comes in the backdrop of Nepal ratifying the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact, a grant of USD 500 million developmental assistance from the US to Kathmandu, seen as a setback for China.

According to an article in The Annapurna Express by Shambhu Kattel, the Foreign Ministry in Beijing has apparently concluded in its review that China's presence in Nepal is weakening.

The article said President Xi Jinping is sending Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Kathmandu to explore ways to turn things around.

It said China decided to send its foreign minister to Kathmandu while the Chinese Communist Party was holding its Annual National People's Congress, suggesting an unusual level of urgency at the unfolding events in Nepal.

According to the article, the Chinese officials have said that Wang's main agenda in Kathmandu is to reassess Beijing's geopolitical and security challenges, as China no longer feels secure in Nepal.

"Implementation of the BRI projects in Nepal is important for Beijing... But this time Beijing is more worried about the security challenges emanating from the compact's approval," said a second Kathmandu-based Chinese official who has long liaised between Kathmandu and Beijing, according to the article.

During his visit, Foreign Minister Wang will also take stock of the political climate in Kathmandu, the article said.

According to the Annapurna Express article, the Chinese official associated with China's diplomatic corps in Kathmandu said that in the lead up to the compact's endorsement, there was a lack of coordination among the Chinese agencies handling Nepal. Speaking anonymously, he also said the communication gap between Beijing and the Chinese Embassy was also growing.

Nepal's federal parliament did ratify the compact, as the Americans wished, but in the run-up to ratification, Beijing tried mighty hard to stop it.

It sees the USD 500 million development grant to Nepal as a part of America's strategy to encircle China, the article noted.

( With inputs from ANI )

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor