Reach out to Nepal

Recently, China held the first joint video conference with Nepal, Afghanistan, and Pakistan and urged the four-nation cooperation to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, boost economic recovery and resumption of projects under Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi presided the meeting with his counterparts from three nations.

China’s growing clout with Nepal’s ruling political party and its recent outreach with Nepal troubles India. As India is busy in containing the pandemic of Covid-19, it hasn’t paid much attention to the ongoing tensions with Nepal. There is a high chance that Nepal may drift away from its sphere of influence.

China’s political clout in Nepal is increasing. Recently, there were widening divisions in the leadership of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP), the ruling party of Nepal. The communist party of Nepal appeared to be heading for a split.

Senior leaders of the party were united to unseat Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. But the growing involvement of the Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Hou Yangqi, likely avoided the split. She held a series of meetings with top leaders of Nepal, including Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Jhalanath Khanal, and Madhav Kumar Nepal. According to some media reports, she calls for unity among leaders of the ruling party.

The Embassy described the meetings as regular ones to discuss the role of China in Nepal’s response to Covid-19. But the meetings come at a time when the ruling party has seen widening rifts and senior leaders of the party have asked the Prime Minister Oli to resign. The Chinese President Xi Jinping also held a telephone conversation with Nepal’s Prime Minister Bidhya Devi Bhandari around the same time to discuss bilateral cooperation and China- Nepal matters. He also offered assistance to Nepal to contain the pandemic of Covid-19.

The telephonic conversation of the Chinese President with his Nepali counterparts followed by the active participation of the Chinese ambassador also hints that China wants the Communist Party of Nepal to be united and in power.

China’s involvement has increased after the 2015 economic blockade. The relations between India and Nepal have soured badly in recent years. When India imposed an unofficial blockade along the border of Nepal citing its unhappiness with Nepal’s newly-released democratic Constitution of Nepal, it opened a door for China. In recent years, China has pumped in millions of dollars into many infrastructures and hydropower projects in Nepal. During the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Himalayan nation in 2019, China pledged nearly USD 500 million in financial assistance to Nepal.

The tensions between Nepal and India further deepened when India inaugurated a newly built road connecting India to China via Lipulekh, as part of the Kailash Mansarovar route. The Himalayan kingdom claims that the road transverses its territory. Nepal also updated its political map to include the contested area of Lipulekh, Kalapani, and Limpiyadhura as its part toughening stance on territorial disputes with India. These issues haven’t been resolved yet.

China is actively engaging with neighbouring countries like Nepal while India is busy containing the Covid-19 pandemic. A recent video conference by Chinese foreign minister with the counterparts of three nations is the latest example of Chinese engagement where he urged to continue projects under the BRI. The BRI is an ambitious multi-billion dollar initiative, which was launched by President Xi when he came in power. The aim of this initiative is to link Southeast Asia, Africa, the Gulf region, Europe, and Central Asia with land and sea routes.

If China can reach out with its neighbours even with virtual meetings, then why can’t India do the same? India should reach out to Nepal and resolve its border issues soon. Else, it will lose Nepal and Nepal will drift towards China’s influence. The Covid-19 pandemic is engulfing the world and let it not be the reason for India to lose its neighbours.

(The writer is an author and businessman based in Nepal who writes for different local newspapers in Nepal)