This gesture from Beijing was part of its broader policy of engaging with all sections of society, a departure from its previous policy which was limited only in some areas.
After the abolition of the monarchy in Nepal in 2008, China managed to penetrate all political parties of Nepal but not the parliament—not until Xi’s visit, that is. The joint press statement issued by the two governments after Xi’s visit stated: The two sides agreed to maintain the momentum of high-level visits, deepen political mutual trust, and expand exchanges and cooperation between government ministries, departments, legislatures, and political parties at all levels. In Chinese foreign policy, follow-up of Xi’s visit gets the topmost priority. A Chinese professor, who provides input to the Chinese government, says through parliamentary collaboration, China wants to counter western and European influence in Nepal’s law-making process. The professor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, adds it is not just in Nepal, China is expanding its footprint in the parliament of South Asian countries to minimize the influence of western power. “Li may have encouraged left parties for the alliance and unity but his primary purpose is to engage with Parliament,” he says. “There was the least chance of such an agreement if the speaker was from other parties than the Maoist party.” Chandra Dev Bhatta, a geopolitical analyst, says the endorsement of Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) of the US may have created a sense of urgency for China to engage with Nepali parliamentarians, but it seems preparations and homework was going on for a long time. There are many countries, including America and Britain, which are already engaging with Nepali parliamentarians through visits and experience exchanges. India which briefly initiated inter-country parliamentary exchange in 2016 has been halted. Bhatta says there is a possibility of China proposing to form a caucus in Nepal’s parliament bringing the like-minded parties together to push forward its agenda. On the surface, there is not much scope for collaboration between the parliaments of the two countries. Nepal is adopting a parliamentary democracy, while China is a one-party communist which dominates parliamentary affairs. But former speaker of Parliament, Daman Nath Dhungana says there are two schools of thought regarding the parliamentary collaboration between two countries. “One group is of the view that there are hardly any spaces for collaboration, given the different natures of the political system and parliament of the two countries,” he says. “And the other group, meanwhile, maintain that parliamentary collaboration is an aspect of bilateral relations the two countries should explore.” China is already actively engaging with the parliament of some countries through Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), a small group of parliamentarians established in 1889 that currently has 178 members and 14 associate members. China’s National People’s Congress is helping the IPU to implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the six-point deal, the two countries have agreed to collaborate on IPU as well. Other than Nepal, China has also approached other South Asian countries for parliamentary collaboration. In July, Li held talks with Bangladeshi parliament speaker Sharmin Chaudhury, where both sides vowed to enhance parliamentary exchanges. In Pakistan, there is already such collaboration in the form of the Pakistan-China Friendship Group. Similarly, talks are also underway between Sri Lanka and China to forge a similar agreement.
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