Head of the International Liaison Department of the Communist Party of China Liu Jianchao called on Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba after arriving in Kathmandu on Sunday for a three-day visit.

“Minister of International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Liu Jianchao paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister Deuba today. Matters of mutual interest between Nepal and China were discussed during the call,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement after the meeting.

The ministry stated that Liu also had a meeting with Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Khadka at the Foreign Ministry. “The two ministers exchanged views on further strengthening of bilateral relations between Nepal and China.”

Liu arrived in Kathmandu, leading an eight-member delegation and he is scheduled to meet various dignitaries, including President Bidya Devi Bhandari and leaders of communist parties—especially the CPN-UML, the CPN (Maoist Centre), and the CPN (Unified Socialist).

He will meet Maoist Centre chair Dahal at 4pm Monday at Khumaltar and Dahal will host a dinner for the delegation at Hotel Soaltee. Liu will meet CPN-UML chief Oli, and CPN (Unified Socialist) leaders Madhav Nepal and Jhala Nath Khanal on Tuesday and will return home on Wednesday after calling on President Bhandari.

After replacing Song Tao as the head of the International Liaison Department of the Communist Party of China, Liu had in the last week of June interacted with Maoist Centre chair Dahal and UML chief Oli, continuing the trend of his predecessor.

Liu’s visit comes at a time when discussions are on to bring together two communist parties UML and CPN (Maoist Centre) again for the upcoming federal and provincial polls.

The Election Commission has already proposed to the government to hold the polls on November 18 in a single phase.

According to leaders of the UML and the Maoist Centre, Chinese leaders are in favour of a unity among the two communist parties of Nepal.

Earlier in March, inviting leaders of both the parties to a function in Kunming, China had given a message that China wishes the communist parties of Nepal to join hands besides expressing concerns over the parliamentary ratification of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Nepal Compact.

Recently, amid a flurry of debates and deliberations on the US State Partnership Program, which is yet another US proposal for cooperation in the field of security and military, China has also expressed grave concerns over whether Nepal would be an US ally in defence cooperation.

After the Nepal government decided not to be a part of the SPP, the Chinese government commended the decision.