(TibetanReview.net, Mar29’26) – China has welcomed Nepal’s new Prime Minister Balendra Shah as it seeks to recast two decades of Nepal policy anchored in the country’s Communist stalwarts KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda”, who sought to move Kathmandu closer to Beijing, including by cracking down on Tibetans, weakening its traditional ties with India, noted dailypioneer.com Mar 28.
Oli, the immediate former Prime Minister, was arrested on Mar 28, just a day after Shah, 35, took office in connection with the violent crackdown on the Gen-Z anti-corruption protests in Sep 2025. At least 76 people were reported killed in the protests and its aftermath, including 22 protesters, three police officers, and 10 prisoners shot while trying to escape.
Congratulating Shah, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told the media in Beijing that China always supported Nepal in safeguarding independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and in realising solidarity, stability, development and prosperity.
Lin has expressed China’s readiness to work with the new Nepalese government to carry forward the traditional friendship, deepen practical cooperation, and advance the strategic partnership of cooperation featuring ever-lasting friendship for development and prosperity.
The report noted that the massive victory of the four-year-old Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), riding high on last year’s Gen-Z protests, which led to the resignation of the Oli Government, ushered a new normal in Nepal’s recent history, marking an end to the dominance of communist parties, which gained political prominence after the abolition of the monarchy in the Himalayan nation in 2008.
China stepped up engagement with the country’s communist parties, especially the CPN-UML headed by Oli and the CPN (Maoist Centre) led by Prachanda, who advocated for closer political and economic ties with China.
Both became Prime Ministers three times each since 2008, played important roles in helping China to advance its influence in Nepal including with the embrace of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The report continued that, importantly, China and Nepal signed up to the One China policy under which Nepal effectively closed the Tibet border, which halted hundreds of Tibetans from crossing over India to meet the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala, India.
The report cited observers as saying the sudden decline of the two communist leaders marked a titanic shift in Nepal’s politics, and China will try to engage with the Balen Shah government to retain the border controls in Tibet and halt Tibetans from crossing over.
Critics have been cited as saying the BRI projects failed to make headway due to political bickering between Oli and Prachanda. The two countries signed up to the initiative in 2017, but none of the 10 projects has moved beyond planning.