China's high delegation to visit Nepal ahead of elections
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Kathmandu: A delegation of seven top officials of China is arriving in Nepal today. The Himalayan nation is heading towards federal and provincial elections.
According to The Kathmandu Post newspaper, country's Election Commission has proposed to hold both elections in a single phase on November 18.
The visit of the Chinese high delegation has raised speculations about the purpose of the visit. There are talks of a possible electoral alliance among Nepal's communist parties. The new head of the International Liaison Department of the Communist Party of China, Liu Jianchao is heading the team, reported AFP.
Like his predecessor, Liu last month interacted with Maoist Centre chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal, UML chair KP Sharma Oli, and Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka. The Chinese delegation is expected to meet President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba among other political leaders.
A source close to the Chinese leaders told the Kathmandu Post that a possible agenda of the visit could be to encourage a pre or post-poll alliance among leftist forces. The Chinese are still weighing the possibility of unity among communist forces in Nepal and may encourage an alliance between the UML and the Maoist Centre.
China recently expressed grave concerns over Nepal's possible defence cooperation with the US. The Chinese government commended the Nepal government's decision to not be part of the US State Partnership Programme (SPP).
The delegation will also promote Chinese interests in Nepal like the Belt and Road Initiative.
