Nepal PM departs for China visit, breaking with India tradition

Nepal's prime minister left Monday for his first bilateral visit to China, a departure from the usual practice by the Himalayan republic's leaders of making India their first official destination.

Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, who returned to power in July after two earlier stints as premier, will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and hold talks with Premier Li Qiang on the four-day trip.

"The prime minister will land this evening," Nepal foreign ministry spokesman Suvanga Parajuli told AFP.

Oli has in the past trod a fine balance between Nepal's two powerful neighbors but favored Beijing in a bid to decrease his country's historical dependence on New Delhi.

"The two countries' leaders will have in-depth exchanges of views on deepening our traditional friendship, expanding Belt and Road cooperation and exchanges and cooperation in various fields, as well as international and regional issues of mutual interest," China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said last week during a press conference.

Pradeep Gyawali, the deputy secretary of Oli's Communist Party of Nepal Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML), told AFP that discussions would center on prior investment deals.

That includes for the recently finished construction of an international airport in the tourist hub of Pokhara, with talk that the Chinese loan underwriting the project could be converted into a grant.

Nepali media reported that Oli likely chose Beijing as his first destination due to the absence of a formal invitation from New Delhi.

Nepal is bordered entirely by India and China and both countries hold sway in the Himalayan republic, though India holds a larger share of trade and influence.

India accounted for nearly 65 percent of Nepal's total trade in the 2023-24 fiscal year, according to customs data.

China's trade share was about 15 percent by contrast, though Chinese companies lead in some industries including a 70 percent share of Nepal's electric vehicle market.

India has the highest foreign investment in Nepal, pumping in more than $750 million last year, with China investing more than $250 million, according to Nepal's central bank.