Nepal PM KP Oli in China for Five-Day Visit from 19 June

Oli, who is considered pro-Beijing, has been invited for the visit by Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang.

File photo of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang with Nepal’s Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, 21 March 2016 in Beijing, China.

(Photo: AP)

Nepal Prime Minister KP Oli will pay a five-day official visit to China from 19 June, his second trip to a foreign country after India since taking power in the Himalayan nation.

Oli, who is considered pro-Beijing, has been invited by Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang. He will hold talks with him and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

China and Nepal are comprehensive and cooperative partners and enjoy the friendship of generations. Their ties have been accelerating with a sound momentum.

Geng Shuang, Spokesperson, Chinese Foreign Ministry

This is Oli's first official visit to China after returning to power in February. He will also visit Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, where he will meet the provincial leaders.

"The two countries have been supporting each other on issues of core interests. Our mutually beneficial cooperation has been accelerating on all fronts. As a first visit by Oli after Nepal finished its political transformation, it will offer important opportunities to two sides to make plans for further development of bilateral ties," Geng said.

"China looks forward to deepening its political cooperation with Nepal under the Belt and Road initiative and deepening cooperation in political, economic and building infrastructure in the aftermath of the earthquake," he added.

This is Oli's second China visit after 2016. Several agreements and MoUs on connectivity, bringing Chinese rail up to Kathmandu from China border, cross-border transmission line, energy, tourism, opening more border points with China using the Tibetan highway and construction of petroleum reservoirs among others will be signed.

The focus of his visit would be on implementation of past agreements including theTrade Transit Protocol with China. Oli will also address the Nepal-China Business Forum and think tanks in Beijing.

The entourage of the Nepali leader will include Home Affairs Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa "Badal", Foreign Affairs Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Barsha Man Pun "Ananta", Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Raghubir Mahaseth and Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister Bishnu Rimal, among others.

During Oli's first tenure in 2015, Kathmandu's ties with its long-time ally New Delhi took a beating over the framing of new Constitution, which led to a blockade of the border with India.

Oli blamed India for the blockade, accusing it of interfering in Nepal's domestic politics. Since then, he has been considered pro-Beijing after he signed a flurry of projects with the country.

Nepal has approved China's Belt and Road project and receives its highest amount of foreign aid from Beijing.