Major General Zhang Baoqun, deputy director of the Office for International Military Cooperation of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, called on Nepal Army chief Prabhu Ram Sharma at NA headquarters on Sunday.

According to the Nepal Army Directorate of Public Relations and Information, discussions were held on various aspects of the relations between the two neighbouring countries and their armies and issues of mutual interest.

The Chinese team led by Major General Zhang arrived in Kathmandu on Saturday. The team will also visit various cultural and tourist places of Kathmandu, Lumbini and Pokhara.

Sources in the security establishment told the Post that the Chinese military delegation will push for the procurement of an armoured personnel carrier (APC) from China, which has been stalled for a long time. Military procurement, the installation of an ammunition plant for the Nepal Army, the resumption of the joint military exercise, training for Nepal Army officials, and military-to-military cooperation are also on the agenda.

This is the first high-level military delegation that arrived from China after Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on March 4 formed a new Cabinet, forging a new alliance with another leading communist party, the CPN-UML, and some fringe parties, thereby ending the Maoist party’s year-long coalition with the Nepali Congress.

The military cooperation wing of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army explores and signs military-related agreements and cooperation with foreign nations.

The Chinese delegation arrived in Kathmandu via Sri Lanka, as part of its South Asia tour. In Male, the Zhang-led delegation reached a new security agreement with the Maldives in the context of the country’s deteriorating ties with India.

The six-member Chinese team will return on Tuesday.