By Our Reporter

After failing to get an invitation from India, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is now preparing to embark on an official visit to China. Tradition has it that any Nepali Prime Minister visit India first after his appointment to the top executive post. But this time, India did not invite Oli. Earlier in 2008, Pushpa Kamal Dahal visited China before visiting India. But everyone knows how the visit became costly for Dahal.

Although Prime Minister Oli tried to receive an invitation from India since his appointment in July this year, the Indian establishment has not shown any interest in inviting him. Of course, India has not been happy with PM Oli since his earlier stint as PM for issuing a new map of Nepal, and it was reflected this time.

Now he is visiting China, and before his visit to China, he has tried to take the Nepali Congress into confidence by forming a high-level mechanism and allowing Foreign Minister Arzu Rana, spouse of Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, to make preparations for his visit to the northern neighbour.

Foreign Minister Rana and Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal had also cancelled their Baku sojourn to participate in the COP29 after the PM got an official invitation to visit China, and they need to make preparations.   

China has formally invited Prime Minister Oli for an official visit from December 2 to 6. Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song handed the invitation, extended by Chinese Premier Li Qiang, to Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal, as reported by the local media.

The upcoming China visit of Prime Minister Oli is likely to focus on the implementation of past agreements and accords, the UML leaders said after the party's central secretariat meeting chaired by party chair and PM Oli on Saturday.

As the Nepali Congress is reluctant to accept loans under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) scheme of China, Prime Minister Oli has, this time, tried to get consent from the NC while inking an agreement with China.

It has already been seven years since Nepal signed the BRI deal, but no concrete progress has been made in the implementation of the BRI agreement as NC leaders have opposed the idea of receiving loans from BRI.

In Beijing, PM Oli will hold bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang. He will also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall Of the People.

According to Media reports in Kathmandu, PM Oli is likely to push forward his plan for Kerung-Galchhi-Kathmandu railway line, Tokha-Chhahare Tunnel project and the upgrading of Dhulikhel-Tatopani road. Besides these, Oli is seeking help for Madan Bhandari Science and Technology University, Ratamate-Kerung transmission lines and the early completion of Kathmandu Ring Road project.

Oli has an obligation to show that the programmes under BRI are moving ahead and the Nepali Congress is with him to make them successful.

However, many suspect whether NC will support moving forward with the projects under BRI, because NC leaders have been seeking grants instead of loans from China citing that Nepal can get loans from World Bank and ADB. If NC agrees with PM Oli's plan, his China visit will be fruitful, otherwise, it may not yield any desired outcome.  Also, it was NC which played a key role in endorsing and implementing the Millennium Challenge Corporation of USA despite opposition from China. As such, it is not easy to implement the BRI and MCC simultaneously. 

Nepal has already bad records in implementing the agreements reached with China. Several agreements inked during Xi Jinping's Nepal visit and China visits by Nepal's presidents Ram Baran Yadav and Bidya Bhandari and late Prime Minister Sushil Koirala have not yet been put into implementation.