KATHMANDU: Foreign Minister Dr. Arzu Rana is scheduled to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on November 30. in Beijing
She will fly to Japan on November 26 and arrive in Beijing on November 29 to prepare for Prime Minister KP Oli's upcoming visit, sources said.
Although Minister Rana is set to meet her counterpart Wang on November 30, Nepal’s Foreign Ministry is still working to arrange meetings with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang and President Xi Jinping.
The Chinese side has confirmed her meeting with Foreign Minister Wang but has yet to finalize her meetings with the Prime Minister and President, high-level sources informed Nepal News.
The Chinese government has proposed December 2-6 as potential dates for Prime Minister Oli's visit to China.
As Foreign Minister Rana prepares for her trip to Beijing, the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) has advised Prime Minister Oli not to accept loans for projects under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The Nepali Congress, Nepal’s largest political party, is skeptical about the scale, scope, and funding modalities of the BRI.
Several meetings between the Nepali Congress and Prime Minister Oli regarding the BRI and the agenda for the upcoming visit have not yet reached a consensus.
Growing resistance within the Nepali Congress has stalled discussions among ministers, complicating the BRI negotiations.
Differences have also emerged between the ruling CPN-UML and the Nepali Congress regarding the signing of the BRI Implementation Plan during Prime Minister Oli’s visit.
While discussions about the agenda for the China visit continue, no agreement has been finalized due to increasing opposition within the Congress.
Despite multiple initiatives from Prime Minister Oli, the Nepali Congress remains hesitant to accept loans or broader cooperation for BRI projects.
The party has consistently advocated for grants instead of loans before agreeing to any BRI implementation agreements.
Recently, China proposed a project-specific funding model and engaged in intense lobbying with Nepali Congress leaders.
However, Nepali Congress leaders communicated to the Chinese ambassador to Nepal that the country cannot manage its existing high debt burden, which they cite as the primary reason for their position.
Following a meeting of its office bearers and former office bearers, the Nepali Congress has officially decided that it is not interested in loan-based funding for BRI projects.
Chinese Ambassador Chen Song has intensified diplomatic efforts within the Nepali Congress to secure support for signing the BRI implementation plan during Prime Minister Oli’s visit.
“Let’s not allow domestic political opportunism to influence foreign policy and jeopardize the region’s geopolitical stability,” Minendra Rijal, a member of the Nepali Congress Central Committee, told Nepal News.
He emphasized that Prime Minister Oli should adhere to the Nepali Congress’s official stance.
The Nepali Congress has long expressed skepticism regarding BRI loans; during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Nepal in March 2022, then-Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba clearly stated that Nepal would not implement BRI projects through loans.
