Kathmandu [Nepal], August 30 : Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin on Saturday, ahead of the 25th Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the SCO Plus meeting.
Oli had flown to Tianjin on Saturday morning from Kathmandu and held the meeting with the Chinese President hours after landing in the host city of the 25th SCO summit.
During the meeting with the Chinese President, Nepali Prime Minister Oli raised the issue of Lipulekh, as per the Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai.
"The issue of Lipulekh was also raised (by the Prime Minister). Regarding that matter, the Prime Minister stated that the Sugauli Treaty of 1816 AD has made the demarcation of Nepali territories; as per which all the areas that lies on the east of Mahakali River is of Nepal and those areas are being used- Lipulekh is being used for trade through an agreement should not have been made and China should not cradle the agreement as Nepal have objection over it, this clear message was conveyed," Rai said in a recorded statement released by the PM Oli's private secretariat.
Earlier, the private secretariat stated that the Nepali Prime Minister had expressed objections to the recent India-China agreement to reopen trade through the Nepali territory of Lipulekh in Darchula District.
"During the meeting with President Xi, the prime minister clearly conveyed Nepal's objection to the India-China agreement to develop Nepali territory Lipulekh as a trade route," the prime minister's secretariat said in a press note, quoting Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai.
"Citing the 1816 Sugauli Treaty, which recognises the areas east of the Mahakali River as part of Nepal's sovereign territory," the statement reads.
"We believe China will support Nepal in this matter," the statement from his private secretariat mentions.
The Nepal Embassy in China, issuing a release, also stated that the Nepali Prime Minister raised the issue in the meeting.
"Referring to the recent understanding reached between India and China on border trade through Lipu Lekh Pass, the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister stated that the territory belongs to Nepal and Government of Nepal has registered its strong objection on the same," the release read.
After the India-China agreement on Lipulekh on August 18 in New Delhi, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a press statement on August 20 and reaffirmed that the official map of Nepal, as incorporated in the Constitution of Nepal, includes Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh, and Kalapani--located east of the Mahakali river--as integral parts of Nepal.
On the same day, the External Affairs Ministry of India issued a statement asserting that border trade between India and China through Lipulekh pass had commenced in 1954 and has been going on for decades. This trade had been disrupted in recent years due to the Covid pandemic and other developments, and both sides have now agreed to resume it, it said.
About an hour after the meeting with the Chinese President, Nepali PM Oli, who landed at Tianjin Binhai International Airport earlier in the afternoon, described the meeting as "fruitful."
"Glad to meet President Xi for the second consecutive year and hold fruitful bilateral talks," he wrote on Twitter. "We reviewed progress on various issues and agreed upon to enhance bilateral cooperation. I thank President Xi for inviting me to the SCO Plus Summit."
China has invited Nepal as a dialogue partner nation since 2016, where the Himalayan Nation is seeking an upgrade to either observer or full member, though geopolitical complexities have hindered this effort. Full membership would ensure the Nepali Prime Minister's participation in every summit of this major regional bloc and facilitate direct access to leaders from China, Russia, India, Iran, and Central Asian nations.
This is Oli's second visit to China since becoming prime minister for the fourth time in July last year. Earlier, Oli went on an official visit to China from December 2 to 5, 2024.