Kathmandu, March 5
As speculation is rife that Beijing is behind the new political change in Nepal, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on Tuesday that China is ready to work with the new government in Nepal.
Breaking the year-long political alliance with the Nepali Congress, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal a.k.a. Prachanda reorganised his Cabinet on Monday by ousting Nepal’s grand old party, and inducting the CPN-UML and Rastriya Swatantra Party.
China is willing to work with the new Nepali government, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during a regular press conference in Beijing on Tuesday.
“We sincerely hope that all the parties in Nepal will unite and cooperate to smoothly advance the work related to the formation of a new government and achieve political stability, economic development, and improvement of people’s livelihood,” the spokesperson said.
After snapping the alliance with the Nepali Congress, Prachanda on Monday inducted three ministers in the new Cabinet, one from his party CPN (Maoist Centre), one from CPN-UML, and a third from the Rastriya Swatantra Party.
After Prachanda decided to break the alliance with the Nepali Congress, it is all set to withdraw its support by Tuesday itself.
As a friendly neighbour and cooperative partner, China attaches great importance to Nepal-China relations and is willing to work with the new Nepali government to adhere to the five principles of peaceful coexistence, enhance traditional friendship, deepen pragmatic cooperation, and promote Nepal-China strategic cooperation for ever-lasting friendship oriented towards development and prosperity, Ning said.
China is facing several controversies in Kathmandu for failing to expedite the projects under the Belt and Road Initiative ( BRI), not completing the projects undertaken by the Chinese companies and contractors, on the issue of corruption, and the ongoing investigation into one ambitious airport which was built on a loan by China, among others.
China is in a very awkward position in Kathmandu and was hell-bent to reorganise the two major Communist parties – UML and Maoist Centre – so that its image could be improved in Nepal.
The partnership will further develop and create more benefits for the people of the two countries, said spokesperson Ning.
