Chinese delegation continues meetings with high-level dignitaries

KATHMANDU: The high-level delegation led by vice-minister of the Communist Party of China, Guo Yezhou, has continued meetings with high-level dignitaries in Kathmandu.

The four-member Chinese delegation arrived in a chartered flight on Sunday.

The delegation has met Pushpa Kamal Dahal, co-chair of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) faction led by him and senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, at Dahal's residence in Khumaltar, Lalitpur. Bilateral relations between the two countries, mutual interest, and various facets of both parties were discussed in the meeting.

Following their visit to Dahal, the Chinese group met the other co-chair Madhav Kumar Nepal of the Dahal-Nepal faction. The meeting took place at Everest Hotel in Baneshwar.

Yesterday evening, Guo Yezhou and his team met President Bidya Devi Bhandari . The meeting lasted almost an hour, according to President Bhandari’s Chief Personal Secretary Bhesh Raj Adhikari.

The delegation also called on Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Sunday evening itself at the Prime Minister's official residence in Baluwatar, Kathmandu.

The visit of the Chinese delegation follows a split in the ruling NCP triggered by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s decision to dissolve the House of Representatives.

On December 22, NCP split into two – one led by Prime Minister Oli and the other led by Dahal and Nepal who have been protesting dissolution of the Lower House. The split, however, is yet to be recognised by the Election Commission.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the party dividing into two, Ambassador of People’s Republic of China to Nepal Hou Yanqi had visited President Bidya Devi Bhandari on December 23 and Pushpa Kamal Dahal on December 24. The Chinese envoy is known to be active during times of crisis in Nepali politics, especially those concerning the ruling NCP.