At the invitation of Wang Yi, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Khadka is visiting China from August 9 to 11, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday.

Though the invitation was extended on July 29, the government was mulling over announcing the visit after tensions flared up between China and the United States in the wake of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

This will be the first high-level visit from Nepal to China since the formation of the current Sher Bahadur Deuba government in July last year.

The two ministers [Khadka and Wang] will hold bilateral talks, leading their respective delegations on August 10 in Qingdao, according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry.

Khadka’s visit to China follows two back-to-back visits from China in March and July—by Foreign Minister Wang and Liu Jianchao, head of the international department of the Chinese Communist Party.

The visit is taking place days after the Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Hou Yanqi, issued a statement in Kathmandu over Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan calling it a serious violation of the one-China principle and hailing Nepal’s commitment to one-China policy.

“We believe that Nepal will continue to abide by the one-China principle and understand and support China’s legitimate and justified position and work together with China to defend each other’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.

Pelosi’s visit to the self-governed island, which China considers part of its territory, attracted scorn from Beijing, which fired missiles into waters surrounding Taiwan even on Thursday, a day after the US official departed Taipei.

Both the US and China have been Nepal’s long-time friends with decades of diplomatic ties. However, in recent times both seem to have attempted to make a renewed push for their engagements with Nepal.

Recently in February, Beijing had warned Washington against “coercive diplomacy” in Nepal as politicians in Kathmandu debated over parliamentary ratification of the Millenium Challenge Corporation, a $500 million UE grant. Nepal ratified the grant agreement in February-end. A month later, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang visited Kathmandu.

Since the MCC ratification, there has been a flurry of visits from the United States to Nepal, with the recent one by Assistant Secretary of State Donal Lu on July 28.

Observers say they are keenly following the developments including Khadka’s visit to the north amid heightened tensions between Beijing and Washington over the Taiwan Strait.

After bilateral talks on August 10, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang will host a banquet in honour of Foreign Minister Khadka and the members of the Nepali delegation, said the Foreign Ministry statement.

Minister Khadka will return to Kathmandu on August 11.