Chinese Defence Minister to visit Nepal on Nov 29

Nov 21, 2020
Kathmandu: Chinese Defence Minister and State Councilor Wei Fenghe is scheduled to visit Nepal on November 29.

Wei will arrive in the Himalayan nation two days after Indian Foreign Secretary Harsha Vardan Shringla concludes his Nepal visit on November 27.

Although China and Nepal are yet to announce the visit, according to the multiple media reports in Kathmandu, General Wei will embark on the single-day visit at a time when India is sending its high-level officials to Kathmandu to mend bilateral ties that has hit bottom low due to

a boundary dispute.

Wei is the first high-ranking Chinese official to visit Nepal since Chinese President Xi Jinping’s trip last October.

General Wei, a former rocket force commander with the China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), is the first of four members of the Central Military Commission chaired by President Xi.

His visit is considered important at a time when the ruling Nepal Communist Party is engaged in intra-party row.

Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi has intensified her political meetings at a time when the ruling NCP is on the brink of a collapse.

His visit coincides with the intra-party dispute in the ruling NCP and the efforts of the Chinese Ambassador Hou Yanqi to keep the party intact.

There have been instances of Ambassador Yanqi’s hectic meetings with top NCP leaders as the intra-party row takes a new height.

Foreign affairs experts have speculated that northern neighbour China is engaged in micro-management of the political affairs of Nepal, of late.IANS