CHINESE TEAM ARRIVES FOR CONSULTATIONS AT FOREIGN SECRETARY LEVEL Kathmandu, 11 Aug.: A seven-member Chinese delegation headed by Vice- foreign minister Fu Ying arrived Saturday for the ninth meeting of Nepal-China consultative mechanism. Vice Foreign Minister of China, Fu Ying, who is leading a Chinese delegation to the ninth meeting of the Nepal-China Consultative Mechanism, is arriving in Kathmandu on Saturday, Anil Giriwrites in The Kathmandu Post.. Fu will fly from Bhutan where China has recently opened its embassy. The Nepal-China meeting, convening after four years, will discuss the entire gamut of bilateral relations, the status of China-funded projects in Nepal, security, trade, tourism and investments. Fu will hold talks with Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha and Saarc Secretary General Ahmed Saleem. The Nepal-China Consultative Mechanism was established in April 1966 and is headed by the Nepali Foreign Secretary and the Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and is the highest bilateral mechanism between the two countries. During Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to Nepal on January 14, the two sides had agreed to make full use of existing mechanisms, including diplomatic consultations and the Nepal-China Joint Economic and Trade Committee Meeting. “This is a political consultative mechanism, which will assess the progress made after the visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to Nepal,” said a highly-placed government source. In recent times, a series of cross-ministerial meetings have taken place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) to update the status of China-funded projects in Nepal, assess the status of Chinese assistance to Nepal and others. Foreign Secretary Durga Prasad Bhattarai is leading the Nepali delegation in the MoFA talks. “We will discuss the entire gamut of bilateral relations and also share viewpoints on international issues,” said Arjun Bahadur Thapa, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Outstanding issues include boundary talks, status of China-funded West Seti hydropower project and construction of an international airport in Pokhara. Prospects of rewinding earlier tender on the Pokhara airport is on the cards, sources said. There are concerns that the bidding cost of the airport is costly and that the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal cannot afford a hefty loan to construct the project. The lowest bid from the Chinese company was US$305 million. The government-estimated project cost was $180 million. EXIM Bank of China had pledged a soft loan of $145 million for the project. The Nepali side will raise issues related to trade, commerce, investments, tourism, border management, infrastructure development and connectivity. The Chinese side is expected to raise issues on security, border management and slow progress on China-funded projects, according to the sources. nnnn