Nepal's prime minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli waves alongside his wife Radhika Shakya before his departure, at the Tribhuvan International airport in Kathmandu on Dec 2, 2024. BEIJING: Nepal's prime minister was in Beijing on Tuesday to meet Chinese leaders, seeking to expand infrastructure cooperation after breaking with the long-standing tradition of new leaders making their first official visit to neighbouring India.
Beijing's foreign ministry said last week that Xi and Oli would"have in-depth exchanges of views on deepening traditional friendship".Pradeep Gyawali, deputy secretary of Oli's Communist Party of Nepal , or CPN , told AFP the visit would centre on prior investment deals – including for the recently finished construction of an international airport in tourist hub Pokhara.
He will also deliver a keynote address at China's prestigious Peking University and speak at a bilateral business forum, the ministry said. China's trade share was about 15 per cent, though Chinese companies lead in some industries – including a 70 per cent share of Nepal's burgeoning electric vehicle market.