Beijing, March 27 China welcomed Nepal’s new Prime Minister, Balendra Shah ('Balen'), as it seeks to reshape Nepal’s two-decade-old policy, which was largely shaped by Communist leaders K P Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, who aimed to bring Kathmandu closer to Beijing, thereby weakening its traditional ties with India.
Congratulating Shah, who was sworn in on Friday as Prime Minister, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told the media here on Friday that China always supports Nepal in safeguarding its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, and in realizing solidarity, stability, development, and prosperity.
China is ready to work with the new Nepalese government to promote traditional friendship, deepen practical cooperation, and advance a strategic partnership focused on lasting friendship for development and prosperity.
The resounding victory of the four-year-old Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) – fueled by last year's Gen-Z protests, which led to the resignation of the Oli government – marks a new normal in Nepal's recent history, ending the dominance of communist parties, which gained political prominence after the abolition of the monarchy in the Himalayan nation in 2008.
China has increased its engagement with communist parties, particularly the CPN-UML led by Oli and the CPN (Maoist Centre) led by Prachanda, who advocated for closer political and economic ties with China.
Both Prachanda and Oli, who became Prime Ministers three times each since 2008, played important roles in helping China to expand its influence in Nepal through initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Importantly, they adopted the One China policy, under which Nepal effectively closed the border with Tibet, halting hundreds of Tibetans from crossing into India to meet with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala.
Observers say the sudden decline of these two leaders marks a significant shift in Nepal's politics, and China will try to engage with the Balen Shah government to maintain border controls in Tibet and prevent Tibetans from crossing over.
Critics say BRI projects failed to progress due to political infighting between Oli and Prachanda.
Though Nepal signed up to the initiative in 2017, none of the 10 projects have moved beyond the planning stage, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
Chinese projects in Nepal have also been plagued by controversies, with critics accusing Oli and Prachanda of awarding infrastructure contracts without transparency or due diligence, the Post report from Nepal said.
Last year, Nepal’s anti-corruption agency filed charges against former ministers, bureaucrats, and a Chinese state-owned company in connection with a multi-million dollar embezzlement during the construction of the China-funded Pokhara International Airport.
The post-election scene in Nepal contrasts sharply with China.
Oli, who was forced to resign as Prime Minister last year after Gen-Z protests failed to win his seat in the recent general elections, while Prachanda managed to win his seat.
The RSP secured a massive 182 seats out of a total of 275 seats in the House of Representatives, trouncing all established parties, including the pro-India Nepali Congress.
The decline of these parties therefore represents more than an electoral shift — it disrupts a diplomatic architecture that provided China with both ideological alignment and policy continuity, a commentary in Nepal’s Annapurna Express newspaper said.
For Beijing, this shift complicates its long-standing approach of engaging Nepal primarily through ideologically sympathetic partners, it said.
Emerging leaders such as Balendra Shah have also demonstrated a more assertive posture on sovereignty and foreign engagement, including decisions to cancel China visits and distance themselves from certain embassy-backed initiatives.
This evolving stance signals a potential recalibration in Nepal's foreign policy tone, it said.
Huang Yunsong, deputy director of Sichuan University’s Institute of South Asian Studies, said RSP’s victory presented “structural opportunities” to strengthen China-Nepal relations.
For “China, the focus is not on whether to realign the relationship, but how to connect with each other. China will closely follow RSP’s foreign policy agenda and attempt to accurately align BRI”, he told the Post.