Preparations and things to be adopted for PM Oli’s visit to China

By Muna Chand

During the visit of Prime Minister KP Oli to China, Nepal has agreed to make a loan with cheaper interest than the World Bank and Asian Development Bank as the last option for signing the BRI Implementation Agreement. According to Ministry of Finance sources, Prime Minister Oli will try to reach an agreement on the issue of advancing BRI by taking the initiative in subsidies as much as possible.

The meeting between Nepal’s Foreign Minister Arzu Rana and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi to be held in Chengdu on Mangsir 14 (November 29) will pave the way for building common views on BRI. After this meeting, Foreign Minister Rana will return to Nepal on Mangsir 15 (November 30). On Mangsir 16 (December 1), Rana will inform about the agenda put forward by China in a discussion between high-level leaders including Prime Minister Oli and Nepali Congress Chairman Sher Bahadur Deuba.

In the meeting between Wang and Rana, Rana will offer a proposal for a cheap loan if the Chinese side goes beyond the loan and makes it clear that the BRI agreement cannot be negotiated. After making clear with China about the interest rate of the cheap loan and the time schedule for Nepal to repay the loan, Rana will try to find a basis for an agreement so that Nepal can choose the project. The agreement between Wang and Rana will be the agenda of Prime Minister Oli’s visit to China. Therefore, Prime Minister Oli is going on a visit to China with the agenda of the Nepali Congress rather than the government of Nepal.

As the Nepali Congress’s relationship with China is improving, Deuba, who is on his way to becoming Prime Minister after Oli, is equally likely to visit China as the Prime Minister. As his wife, Foreign Minister Rana is thinking of not keeping the BRI implementation agreement until Deuba becomes Prime Minister. Deuba also wants to add another brick to Arzu’s political life by giving the message that the basis of the BRI agreement was made because of Arzu.

Along with the BRI agreement, Nepal will urge for the availability of one trillion rupees of subsidy that China has announced at various times. If that amount is received, Nepal will repay the loan taken from the Exim Bank of China during the construction of Pokhara Airport. The meeting of foreign ministers will also prepare a kind of blueprint on how to proceed with other agreements made in the past. The topics that Nepal will raise during this visit are not new.

In the preparations so far, Nepal is trying to raise the following topics during the visit.

Nepal will request to proceed with the BRI project grant.

Nepal will ask China to release the amount of subsidy that China has agreed to give as soon as possible.

Nepal will urge for the loan of Pokhara Airport to be converted into a grant.

Before this, Nepal will seek China’s commitment to advance the projects signed during various high-level visits.

Nepal will ask China to sign an agreement on the construction of electricity transmission lines between the two countries.

Nepal will seek China’s help in building some hospitals including Pokhara Provincial.

It seems that China should take care of the matter raised by Nepal in this way.

It is important to be clear whether the BRI project will be a loan or a grant. If the BRI project is to be done with a subsidy, China will have all the rights to choose and build the project. It seems that the government of China should make it clear that Nepal will not receive subsidies from China for projects other than BRI.

If it is to be done through BRI subsidy, the subsidy that China said would give before this should also be included in BRI.

While talking about the Pokhara Airport, we should also talk about the four aircraft that China sold and donated to Nepal Air Lines. Because of the aircraft, China has become infamous in Nepal. In addition, the leaders of Nepal are silent about the return of the aircraft because the leaders of Nepal took a commission for buying the aircraft from China.

This visit requires China to propose that return the ship at the price we sold it to.

Even if the project loans and grants signed earlier are done, China should try to bring them into the framework of BRI.

China should be clear about where transmission lines connect to power stations. Nepal is trying to connect the transmission line of Ratmate to the power transmission line with China. Ratmate is a project of MCC. Connecting to this will indirectly support the MCC. In addition, China should also be clear about which projects in Nepal will have Chinese investment.

It seems that China should demand a clear answer from Nepal regarding the security concerns that China is raising. Not only the growing American activities in the northern region of Nepal, but also China should demand an answer on why the Nepali authorities are engaged in the work of bringing Tibetans to Dharamsala in India through Nepal. China should also raise the issue of the Dalai Lama’s birthday, which has been celebrated publicly in Nepal in recent years.

It seems that China should also question about the 30 percent of fuel that was supposed to be taken from China when Oli was the Prime Minister. It is necessary to discuss the issue of five storage houses to be built in the northern region of Nepal for the storage of the fuel provided by China.

It has been too late for China to find a clear basis of Nepal regarding the control of the growing anti-Chinese activities in Nepal. It should also be clear about the said base during the visit.

China should also be interested in continuing the contract work taken by the Chinese company in Nepal. Nepal’s political parties and government are engaged in defaming China by not advancing the contract work on time. The latest example of this is the Narayangadh-Butwal road. Nepal’s commitment to clear the road has not yet been fulfilled. The condition of Kalanki Ring Road in Kathmandu is also the same.