After the BRI deal

In a sign of maturing diplomacy, Nepal stood its ground when necessary, while also not being rigid.

To its credit, the team of KP Sharma Oli in Beijing somehow convinced the Chinese to sign the BRI framework agreement on Wednesday. The Chinese don’t do hasty negotiations. A day earlier, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had met his Chinese counterpart, Li Qiang. On the same evening, there was a meeting between Oli and Chinese President Xi Jinping. A joint statement was issued later in the day, outlining all the major developments of Oli’s trip. The much-hyped framework for BRI cooperation had found no mention in the statement. China watchers back home started bemoaning the ‘abject failure’ of Oli’s China trip. But then Team Oli, which included his chief advisor Bishnu Rimal and chief economic advisor Yubaraj Khatiwada, pulled a rabbit out of the bag.