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China has appointed Qin Gang, a trusted aide of President Xi Jinping, as its new foreign minister, state radio reported on Friday, Reuters reported.

Qin, 56, and currently China’s ambassador to the United States, replaces Wang Yi, who has been foreign minister for the past decade. Wang, 69, was promoted to the politburo of the Chinese Communist Party in October and is expected to play a bigger role in foreign policy.

A rising star in the foreign ministry, Qin rose through various positions including as the ministry’s spokesman and postings at the Chinese embassy in Britain, according to Reuters.

He served as Xi’s chief protocol officer between 2014 and 2018.

Following his appointment, Qin will return to Beijing from Washington after 17 months as China’s 11th ambassador to the United States.

In an essay published in American bi-monthly magazine the National Interest this week, Qin gave an overview of China’s position on foreign policy and reiterated that China-U.S. relations were not a zero-sum game.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Friday. During the meeting held at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar, the duo insisted on further consolidating the Nepal-India ties, according to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat. On the occasion, the ambassador handed a letter of congratulations to Dahal sent by his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has directed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Bishnu Poudel not to implement the decision to impose excise duty on mobile phones brought by Nepali migrant workers while returning home. According to Prime Minister’s press coordinator Surya Kiran Sharma, the Prime Minister instructed the concerned authority to keep with the previous provision in regard to the mobile phones brought from abroad for personal use. Nepali migrant workers have criticized the government decision to charge a tax up to 18 percent on a mobile phone brought from abroad. Earlier, the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) decided to implement the Mobile Device Management System (MDMS) beginning from today to discourage the grey market of smartphones. As per the provision, anyone found carrying smartphones more than one while returning from abroad will be imposed excise duty up to 18 percent and in the case of the possession of more than two sets, the third will be seized by the customs officials. The NTA had called for updating the imported mobile phone sets and the mobile phones brought into the country for personal use, but not registered in the MDMS system, or those sets not in use in Nepal prior to September 16, in the system following the declaration of the customs.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli held a meeting in Baluwatar on Friday. Oli reached Baluwatar to discuss the Common Minimum Program (CMP) of the government, distribution of ministries among the coalition partners and contemporary political issues. The first meeting of the ruling coalition has decided to make former prime minister Oli the coordinator of the ruling coalition parties. UML General Secretary Shankar Pokharel said that a high-level mechanism was formed under the headship of Oli to coordinate with the government. Senior leaders of the new ruling coalition will be in the mechanism. The mechanism will prepare a draft of the CMP of the government within five days. Pokharel said that a committee has been formed under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel to fix the CMP of the government. Barshaman Pun of the CPN (Maoist Center), Dr Mukul Dhakal of the Rastriya Swatantra Party and Dr Dhawal Shumsher Rana of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party will be in the committee. Members from Janata Samajbadi Party, Janamat Party, and Nagarik Unmukti Party will also be added to the committee. Dahal became prime minister for the third time with the support of seven political parties including the CPN-UML.