KATHMANDU: Unfazed by criticism over her meetings with the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) leaders at a time when intra-party rift is heading towards the climax, China’s Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi on Thursday met NCP Co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal at his residence in Khumaltar. The Chinese envoy’s meeting with Dahal comes close on the heels of her meetings with other senior leaders of the NCP, Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhalanath Khanal. She had met Nepal on Sunday and Khanal on Tuesday. Zhang Si, an official at the Chinese Embassy, said the Chinese envoy met Dahal on Thursday and discussed issues of common interests. Dahal’s secretariat did not release any details of his meeting with the Chinese envoy. When asked to comment on the criticism against Chinese Ambassador’s recent meetings with NCP leaders, Zhang said it was normal for the ambassador to meet political leaders of Nepal. “China does not interfere in any country’s internal affairs,” he added. A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 10, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.