Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who reached Beijing on Monday on a four-day official visit, is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang on Tuesday. Following the meetings, several project agreements and instruments are expected to be signed, officials said.

Sun Weidong, vice minister for Foreign Affairs of China, Nepali Ambassador to China Krishna Prasad Oli, and Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song, among others, welcomed the Nepali delegation at Beijing Capital International Airport.

Oli is leading an 87-member delegation that includes his spouse Radhika Shkaya, Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba, advisors to the prime minister, members of parliament, senior government officials, and businesspersons, among others.

“Prime Minister Oli will hold a meeting with Xi, the president of the People’s Republic of China tomorrow [Tuesday],” said a statement issued by the Nepali Embassy in Beijing on Monday. “On the same day, the prime minister is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Li.”

A Cabinet meeting on Sunday approved the prime minister’s visit to China, as well as projects and instruments to be signed during the visit. Besides meeting with the Chinese president and premier, Oli will hold talks with Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, and will deliver a keynote address at Peking University.

He will also address the Nepal-China Business Forum, jointly hosted by the Embassy of Nepal in Beijing, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), and the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), on Wednesday.

Sunday’s Cabinet meeting also approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the Volunteers’ Chinese Language Teachers’ Programme, according to Minister for Information and Communication Prithivi Subba Gurung, the government spokesman.

The MoU will pave the way for Chinese teachers to teach Chinese language in various Nepali schools. Details of the programme, such as the number of Chinese teachers and working modality, will be finalised by the Ministry of Education and its Chinese counterpart, according to a foreign ministry official.

China is set to provide a one-time budgetary support of $20 million to Nepal. Another agreement to accept Chinese economic and technical assistance worth 300 million RMB was also endorsed by the Cabinet on Sunday.

Observers are closely watching whether the framework for cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will be signed during this visit. A revised BRI framework document, prepared by a four-member task force from the ruling Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, has already been forwarded to the Chinese side for its consideration.

Although Nepal has received positive signals on the revised BRI document, it remains uncertain whether it will be signed during Oli’s visit, a foreign ministry official told the Post before flying to Beijing on Monday.

During the visit, according to government spokesperson Gurung, some project-related agreements are also expected to be signed. These include construction of an integrated check post at the Korola border point; Tokha-Chhahare tunnel road; Tokha-Chhahre-Bidur Highway; and an agreement to complete the feasibility study of 220KV Jilong/Kerung-Rasuwagadhi-Chilime cross-border power transmission line.

According to Gurung, 0ther agreements include the construction of a friendship bridge in Kimathanka— Khandbari over the Arun river; construction of a multi-functional agriculture park at Chobhar; industrial park at the Korola border point; and agreement on commencing bone marrow transplant at BP Koirala Cancer Hospital.

Also, a new development cooperation model for 2024–2028 between Nepal and China is also expected to be signed.

During the visit, leaders and officials will engage in finalising the framework for BRI cooperation and some projects to be developed under it. The Nepali side has proposed a dozen projects to be executed under the BRI framework.

Multiple officials involved in the negotiations with the Chinese told the Post that Nepal is seeking the release of pending grants announced by China since 2008 and wants to develop select projects.

Similarly, an MoU will be signed between Nepal Television and China Media Group, which owns China Central Television (including China Global Television Network), China National Radio, and China Radio International.

Some accords and agreements from previous visits including Araniko Highway upgrade, and the second phase of Kathmandu Ring Road expansion are likely to be signed after delegation-level talks between Oli and Li on Tuesday.

Chinese assistance, including 100 electric vehicles, vans, and ambulances; and some cross-border infrastructure and connectivity-related projects, will also be discussed and signed during the prime minister’s visit, according to officials.