Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba has reached Chengdu, China, on Thursday to lay the groundwork for the visit of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

This marks Deuba’s first visit to China since her appointment as foreign minister. The visit is expected to set the tone for the prime minister’s upcoming trip, which is being keenly watched by different sectors and stakeholders, both domestic and international.

During her visit, Minister Deuba is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Chengdu in Sichuan Province, on Friday. Prime Minister Oli is visiting the northern neighbour next week at the head of an 87-member delegation, which will include 39 members from the government and 48 from the private sector. A Cabinet meeting on Thursday approved the prime minister’s China visit.

The prime minister’s delegation includes his spouse Radhika Shakya, Foreign Minister Deuba, two advisers to the prime minister, the prime minister’s private doctor, chief secretary, foreign and finance secretaries, security personnel, senior government officials and chief of protocol of the foreign ministry, media persons and nine lawmakers from different political parties, according to a minister. The delegation will also include the chief executive officer of the Nepal Investment Board and officials from Madan Bhandari Science and Technology University.

The prime minister will fly directly to Beijing on a chartered flight of Himalaya Airlines on December 2.

Foreign Minister Deuba is expected to return to Nepal on Saturday and will join the prime minister’s delegation on Monday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Nepali Ambassador to China Krishna Prasad Oli, charge d'affaires at the Nepali Embassy in Beijing Surendra Yadav, among others, will accompany her at the meeting with Wang. During the meeting, Deuba will convey to Wang the message of the Oli-led coalition government and Nepal’s revised proposal for implementing projects under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Oli will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on December 3, as per the itinerary.

Speaking with the Post before heading for Chengdu, Deuba said she will discuss and exchange the agenda of Oli’s upcoming China visit and will update China on Nepal’s latest position on the BRI implementation plan, which has been revised and named as ‘Framework for cooperation on jointly building the BRI between Nepal and China’. Beijing had proposed the plan in early 2020.

A joint Congress-UML taskforce has heavily revised the text of the document and sent it for Chinese approval. The new text of the cooperation framework, which was reviewed and approved by Prime Minister Oli and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, was sent to the Chinese side on Wednesday for their consideration. With this, real negotiations on BRI have begun between Nepal and China, after four years.

Although the Chinese side is not happy with excessive media reporting and hype around the BRI in Nepal, the narrowing of the scope of cooperation compared to the original Chinese proposal, and the spread of misinformation and disinformation by various sections about the BRI, the Chinese have not outright rejected the revised text, according to ruling party leaders. The leaders said efforts are underway to address Chinese concerns. A joint team of Congress and UML leaders met on Thursday evening to explore ways to reassure the Chinese side.

“Our central message is, Nepal is committed to the BRI, of which we became a part in 2017. We want Chinese economic and technical support in order to expedite the projects under the BRI framework, and Nepal won’t backtrack on its position on the BRI,” a Nepali Congress leader told the Post.

The taskforce has heavily revised the draft of the BRI implementation plan, to the dissatisfaction of the Chinese side.

Chinese Ambassador Chen Song had expressed his displeasure about “biased media coverage on the BRI and statements made by political party leaders” during a meeting with Foreign Minister Deuba on Sunday.

Foreign Minister Deuba rebutted claims of divisions between the Congress and the UML on the BRI.

“Our leaders are one and firm on the BRI. There is no difference between us. We have also formed a team to pursue the issue of BRI and they are also talking with them [Chinese]… We have no disagreements over it [BRI]”, said Deuba.

Asked whether an agreement on the BRI would materialise during the prime minister’s visit, Deuba stated that it is part of negotiations.

“In diplomacy and foreign policy, when matters of bilateral relations arise, it is natural for both sides to present their respective positions. Several rounds of talks and negotiations are held in such cases. Let’s see how things unfold,” said Deuba without giving an explicit answer on whether a new agreement on BRI would be signed during Oli’s visit.

During her meeting with Wang, Deuba will discuss overall agendas of the prime minister’s visit, Nepal’s expectations, and quick realisation of commitments from past high-level engagements.

The new draft of the MoU on BRI cooperation framework focuses on Nepal’s current needs.

“The Chinese had in early 2020 proposed the plan’s original text, which has been substantially revised, and our commitment to the BRI is well reflected in the new text,” said a task-force member on condition of anonymity because the matter is still evolving and in stage of negotiation with the Chinese side.

“There is no need to include every detail or ambiguous language in the agreement that could lead to multiple interpretations. We want to see BRI as a development cooperation vehicle that will focus on projects related to connectivity, infrastructure and energy,” the member said.

Officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that if the Chinese side agrees to Nepal’s terms and conditions, a new framework for cooperation could be signed during Oli’s visit.

While the new text is silent on loans from Chinese banks and financial institutions for BRI projects, it emphasises Nepal's preference for grants, at least for now. The aim during the prime minister’s visit is to reach an agreement to expedite BRI projects. Nepal had initially proposed 35 projects under the BRI in 2018, but later trimmed down the list to nine at China’s request.

Nepali Congress General Secretary Gagan Thapa; chief political adviser to the prime minister, Bishnu Rimal; economic adviser to the prime minister, Yuba Raj Khatiwada; and advocate Semnata Dahal revised the original document proposed by China.

As the prime minister prepares to visit the northern neighbour on December 2, the BRI has come into sharp focus. Various quarters are keenly watching how Nepal will negotiate the BRI deal with China. The two ruling coalition partners—the Congress and the UML—have been holding continuous negotiations to forge a common position and finalise Nepal’s stance on the support it seeks from China.

If we can convince the Chinese side that Nepal is committed to the BRI and ready to execute some projects under its framework, it would serve as a positive outcome for Beijing, Kathmandu, Prime Minister Oli, the Nepali Congress and the UML, said the party leaders who are part of the negotiations.

They added that a big country like China would respect and understand Nepal’s sensitivities and geopolitical location.