Nepal

Having nudged Nepal’s divided communist leaders to reunite again, the third-ranking leader of Communist Party of China Li Zhansu took a break on Wednesday to visit Bhaktapur.

Also known as Bhadgaun, the UNESCO world heritage site shares historic and cultural ties with China.

Li, regarded as a confidante of President Xi Jinping, landed in Kathmandu on Monday with a 67-member delegation. 

The same evening, the Speaker of China’s National People’s Congress and the Speaker of Nepal’s lower house of Parliament, the House of Representatives, Agni Prasad Sapkota, signed a six-point understanding aimed at fostering cooperation in the areas of governance, legislative and supervisory practices. 

The two sides also pledged to “reap common benefit” by increasing “mutual affiliation” through China’s Belt and Road Initiative that Nepal agreed to be part of in 2017.

Since arriving on a special jet, Li’s delegation has remained busy meeting Nepali leaders and officials. On Monday, during a meeting with CPN-UML leaders he reportedly enquired about the possibility of communist party re-unification ahead of the elections. It is unclear what response Oli gave to Li.

Infighting

Separately, Li also held talks with CPN-MC leader Prachanda and other communist leaders. 

After sweeping 2017 elections, the KP Oli-led NCP led the government for more than two years, but things turned turtle and the power slipped out of the communists’ hands – just as infighting worsened and Oli dissolved the House of Representatives. Later, the Supreme Court reinstated the House that elected Sher Bahadur Deuba as new PM.

Equally important, Nepali leaders said, the Chinese leader was also inquisitive about the possible outcome of the twin elections due on November 20. The outcome of local elections held in May indicate a clear lead for Nepali Congress, followed by CPN-UML and other communist parties.

Before 2017 elections, Chinese leaders had urged Nepal’s communist parties to unite and form a single communist party just like CPC in China. That worked for some time as CPN-UML and CPN-Moist agreed to unify their parties and forged an electoral alliance just in time for elections. 

This time around, all indications are that the communist parties wouldn’t even forge an electoral alliance, let alone unify their deeply divided parties. 

Belt and Road Initiative

As far as the BRI is concerned, no project has seen the light of day, although both sides had agreed in the past to develop a railway line connecting the Tibetan Autonomous Region with Kathmandu and develop a big park in Jhapa.

Meanwhile, during Li’s visit, Nepali and Chinese leaders have voiced the need for an implementation agreement for the BRI. 

Also, Nepali officials, including Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka, have reportedly made it clear to Li that Nepal would not accept any Chinese loans for BRI projects. That follows suggestions from experts in recent times that Nepal should go for only Chinese grants. 

Before returning home on Thursday capping their four-day trip, Li and his delegation members are due to hold talks with more senior leaders.

Also Read: Fifteen takeways from Chinese city of Tsingtao