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An independent candidate Balen Shah has been elected as the mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. He will head the Kathmandu metropolis for next five years.

He defeated his nearest rival Srijana Singh of Nepali Congress by 23, 426 votes to become the new mayor of Kathmandu metropolis.

An engineer by profession, Shah garnered 62, 767 votes while Singh secured 38, 341 votes. 

Similarly, CPN-UML candidate Keshav Sthapit received 38, 117 votes.

Shah (32) is also one of the popular rappers of Nepal. 

Likewise, Sunita Dangol of CPN-UML has been elected as the deputy mayor of the metropolis with 68, 612 votes.

Her closest contender Rameshwar Shrestha of CPN (Unified Socialist) got 23, 806 votes.

Nepal firmly adheres to the one-China principle, and will never allow any forces to use its territory for anti-China separatist activities, the Nepali side said during a virtual meeting with Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Jianghao at the 14th round of China-Nepal diplomatic consultation held on Wednesday, Global Times reported.

China and Nepal are good neighbors and friends that help, respect and trust each other. In 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari visited each other and upgraded bilateral relations to a strategic partnership for mutual development and prosperity. 

As close neighbors and dear friends, China and Nepal should promote their traditional friendship and stand firm in supporting each other, Wu said. He said that the two sides should deepen cooperation on epidemic prevention, build the Belt & Road Initiative with high quality, and maintain close communication in various fields. 

For his part, Foreign Secretary of Nepal Bharat Raj Paudyal said that Nepal attaches great importance to its ties with China, and expressed satisfaction and confidence for bilateral development. 

Nepal firmly adheres to the one-China principle, Paudyal noted, and will never allow any forces to use its territory for anti-China separatist activities. Nepal will actively participate in the Belt & Road Initiative, strengthen communications on multiple levels and coordinate with China on regional and international affairs, according to Global Times.

The two sides also exchanged ideas on the cooperation and plans in the fields of future trade and investment, interconnection, law enforcement and security and humanistic exchanges.

In March, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi paid a visit to Kathmandu, the highest-level visit by a Chinese delegation since Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba assumed office in July 2021. The visit also came after Nepal's ratification of a $500 million grant from the US through the MCC agreement.  

During his visit, Wang said China believes the affairs of Nepal should be decided by its people, and China opposes any attempt to undermine Nepal's sovereignty and independence, interfere in its internal affairs and engage in geopolitical games in the country.

In February, BBC reported that "a Nepalese government report leaked to the BBC accuses China of encroaching into Nepal along the two countries' shared border" in the district of Humla, in the far west of Nepal, Global Times reported.

However, the Global Times found that the claims had been raised since 2020, and have been repeatedly refuted by the Nepali Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Observers said the BBC's report raised suspicions that its motives match "Tibetan independence" secession forces, and was part of a smear campaign against China amid applause for the Beijing Winter Olympics in February, Global Times reported.

Nepal and China have agreed to promote cooperation in various sectors including trade, transit, connectivity, investment, health, tourism, poverty alleviation, disaster management, education, culture, and people-to-people exchanges, among others.

The two countries agreed on this during the 14th meeting of the Nepal-China Diplomatic Consultation Mechanism held virtually Wednesday afternoon.

Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal and Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China Wu Jianghao led their respective delegations to the meeting, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a press release.

On the occasion, the two sides took stock of Nepal-China relations and exchanged views on further promoting bilateral relations and cooperation for mutual benefit.

During the meeting, the two sides underscored the importance of exchange of high-level visits and stressed the need for timely implementation of the agreements and understandings reached between the two countries.

Foreign Secretary Paudyal thanked the Chinese Government for the generous support of life-saving vaccines and medical supplies to Nepal during the difficult time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Assistant Minister Wu assured the Foreign Secretary of China’s support for the improvement of health infrastructures as well as for the capacity building of medical personnel of Nepal.

The two sides also agreed to activate bilateral mechanisms to enhance cooperation and partnership in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. They also emphasized the need for timely completion of China-assisted projects.

The main opposition CPN-UML has objected to US Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, who is also the special coordinator for Tibetan issues Uzra Zeya’s visit to the Tibetan refugee camp in Jawalakhel, Lalitpur.

Taking part in the discussion over the policy and programs of the government in the Federal Parliament on Thursday, the main opposition party leader and party Chairman KP Sharma Oli expressed his dissatisfaction for allowing the US Under Secretary of State to visit the Tibetan refugee camp.

She visited the Tibetan refugee camp in Jawalakhel, Lalitpur on May 21. Later that day she also went to Kathmandu’s Boudha, home to a large number of Tibetan refugees.

US Under Secretary of State Zeya was taken to the refugee camp with police escorting by security forces.

“This government does not care about the national interest. This government has violated Nepal's established norms by letting US official to visit Tibetan refugee camp in Nepal. This government has become weak,” he said.

Also Read: US engagement with Nepal’s Tibetan refugees infuriating China

“Who allowed the US official to visit the Tibetan refugee camp? Is this the neutrality and national independent foreign policy envisioned by the constitution?” he questioned.

He said that the government is not committed to the One-China policy.

“The government gets a fever when a foreigner comes to Nepal. How can sovereignty be protected?” he questioned.

Some political leaders, ex-diplomats, and bureaucrats criticized the government for allowing her to see Tibetan refugees, saying that it violated Nepal’s One-China policy.