BEIJING (TIP): In what appears to be a straight competition for influence with India, China has increased its official aid to Nepal by more than five times. China has also promised to build electricity infrastructure in Nepal worth $1.6 billion to counter an Indian offer of soft loan for the power sector.
Chinese aid to the Himalayan nation will rise from the present level of $24 million to $128 million in 2015-16. The announcement came after talks between Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and his Nepali counterpart Mahendra Bahadur Pandey in Kathmandu on Friday.
Besides, Beijing is building a police academy for Nepal as a special gift. This is probably because Nepalese police help control the flow of Tibetan refugees trying to enter India through Nepal.”As neighbors China and Nepal have common security needs … we need to work together to crack down on illegal border crossings and transnational crimes,” Wang said.Nepali elite have for sometime complained that India has taken its relationship with the country for granted, and has not done enough to meet its development aspirations.