China's Defence Minister to be in Nepal on Sunday
Nov 28, 2020
Kathmandu [Nepal], November 28 : Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe is scheduled to visit Nepal on Sunday during which he is expected to meet Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Army Chief General Purna Chandra Thapa, confirmed Nepal's Foreign Ministry.
"Wei Fenghe, State Councilor and Defense Minister of the People's Republic of China, is paying a one-day working visit to Nepal on 29 November 2020," the ministry confirmed on Saturday.
The ministry statement comes a day after India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla concluded his maiden two-day visit to the Himalayan nation.
The visit by Wei, a senior member of the Chinese Cabinet, also coincides with the ongoing intra-party dispute in ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP).
General Wei, a former rocket force commander with the Chinese military PLA, is the first of four members of the Central Military Commission chaired by President Xi Jinping.
During his stay in the capital, he will call on President Bidhya Bhandari and meet with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
He will also hold meet with Nepal's Chief of Army Staff General Purna Chandra Thapa.
China is engaged in micro-management of the political affairs of Nepal, Khabarhub reported citing foreign affairs expert.
Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Hou Yanqi has intensified her political meetings at a time when the ruling NCP is on the brink of collapse, Khabarhub said in the report.
Early this month, Hou met Prime Minister Oli and held talks for about two hours. Source confirmed to ANI that the meet touched on the unification process of the ruling party and on solving ongoing issues inside the party.
