President Xi Jinping likely to visit Nepal in October

Xi Jinping

Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to visit Nepal in October following his participation in the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) summit in Panaji, the South China Morning Post reported.

The Hong Kong daily quoting sources in Nepal’s Foreign Ministry said President Xi is expected to visit the Himalayan nation-actively engaged in balancing ties between India and China—on October 16, following the BRICS summit that concludes on the same day.

“Indications” regarding President Xi’s visit came during the three day tour to Nepal, earlier this week, by Chinese Admiral Sun Jianguo, according to the report.

Growing ties

The presidential visit will cap growing ties between Kathmandu and Beijing, which acquired a high profile after China became an energy supplier to Nepal, breaking India’s monopoly in fuel exports, in the midst of a violent agitation over the adoption of Nepal’s new Constitution.

Sources in Nepal told

The Hindu that apart from an “assessment” of the possibility of Mr. Xi’s visit, two other topics were prominently discussed during Admiral Sun’s talks with Nepal’s Defence Minister Bhim Rawal and Chief of Army Staff General Rajendra Chhetri. First, the visiting Admiral discussed the extension of the Qinghai-Tibet railway to Kathmandu and further to Lumbini, close to the border with India. Both sides are actively pursuing improvement of trans-Himalayan connectivity, with the railways playing a leading role.

Last month an international freight train left for Nepal from Lanzhou in China’s Gansu province, to cover a distance of 2,431 km to Xigaze in Tibet, the last railhead. The goods were then to be transported by road to the Geelong land port in Nepal, and further to Kathmandu, 160 km away.

Fresh momentum

Second, the two sides discussed Nepal’s integration in China’s One Belt One Road , Eurasian connectivity project. China-Nepal ties acquired fresh momentum during the visit to China by Nepal’s Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli in March. During that visit President Xi was quoted as saying that, “Nepal can be a bridge between China and India.”

The Kathmandu Post is reporting that China and Nepal are also holding foreign secretary level talks in the third week of June in Kathmandu, where the status of all the accords that were reached during Mr. Oli’s visit would be reviewed.

Besides, on Friday, Nepal’s Vice-President Nanda Bahadur Pun left for a week long visit to Kunming, which is hosting a China-South Asia expo, apart from a meeting of the China-South Asia think tank forum.