KATHMANDU: Minister for Foreign Affairs Prakash Sharan Mahat said the Government of Nepal did not have any information whether Chinese President Xi Jinping postponed or cancelled his purported visit to Nepal. Talking to THT Online over phone, Minister Mahat said, 'This is the issue we know nothing about. We will talk with the Embassy (of China) officials about the matter.' Earlier, some media reported that the Chinese President put off his Nepal visit citing lack of preparations on the Nepali side. The alleged decision was in fact China's expression of discontent  over Nepal's weak commitment to the One Belt One Road project, according to reports. The Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Wu Chuntai, some days ago had already informed the top leadership in Kathmandu about Beijing's decision regarding cancellation of Xi's purported visit, Nepali vernacular Annapurna Post reported, referring to an unnamed source. 'We do not know where they found the information from,' Minister Mahat said, 'I will also check it with my sources.' Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi and MoFA Spokesperson Bharat Raj Paudyal also said they were also unaware about any such information through diplomatic channel. 'We know nothing about it,' both Bairagi and Paudyal told THT Online. In mid-August, Deputy Prime Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara had visited the northern neighbour as a special envoy of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and handed over the Nepal visit invitation to Xi on behalf of President Bidya Devi Bhandari. Upon arrival to Kathmandu from the Beijing trip, Mahara had told journalists that the Chinese Head of the State would pay a visit to Nepal soon. The government was expecting that Xi Jinping would be in Nepal by mid-October, according to MoFA sources. Before Mahara, the erstwhile Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had visited China in March and had a courtesy meeting with the Chinese leader. The government was preparing for his visit to Nepal since then. After the government change in August first week, PM Dahal had decided to send Mahara to China with an assignment to renew the invitation among others. READ ALSO:

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