Belt, road and roundabout

China’s statement that Pokhara airport is under the BRI has legitimate justifications.

When Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song proclaimed that Pokhara International Airport was a Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project during its inaugural and also at the function marking the first flight from China, Nepali officials were caught off-guard by the declaration. The embarrassment was evident when Foreign Minister NP Saud scrambled to refute the Chinese claim. Speaking in Parliament late last month, he said that China and Nepal were still discussing how BRI projects would be implemented, and that Nepal had not executed a single one. That certainly was not a convincing explanation against the assertiveness of the Chinese claim. Considering these conflicting perspectives, perhaps a deep scrutiny of the legal arrangement of the BRI and its practice will help to unravel the confusion.