KATHMANDU: Vice Minister in the international department of the Communist Party of China, Guo Yezhou, has met two leaders of both rival factions of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) together.
According to a party source, the Chinese high-level team led by Yezhou met Prime Minister and NCP Chairman KP Sharma Oli’s foreign affairs advisor and NCP central committee member Rajan Bhattarai and Janardan Sharma, a NCP leader close to Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’.
During the meeting, Chinese high-level delegation is said to have discussed the possibility of the unity of the ruling NCP that is on the verge of a split.
The Chinese team organized a dinner meeting with both leaders on Tuesday night. According to the source, the Chinese team discussed the latest political developments as well as possibility of unity of the ruling party.
The Chinese delegation also suggested both leaders to take initiative for the unity of the party, according to the source.
Earlier during the meeting with Oli and Prachanda separately, the Chinese team had reportedly asked them to recommend a name of a leader close to them.
Based on the recommendations, Bhattarai and Sharma were invited for the meeting. Prime Minister Oli’s foreign affairs advisor Bhattarai, however, said that it was a general meeting with the Chinese delegation.
The high-level Chinese delegation returned to China after wrapping up four-day visit to Nepal. The Vice Minister-led Chinese team had met main opposition Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba along with rival leaders of the NCP including its co chairs Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and Madhav Kumar Nepal, Jhalanath Khanal and Janata Samajwadi Party Chairman Baburam Bhattarai, separately.
Earlier on Sunday, the Chinese team called on Prime Minister and ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Chairman KP Sharma Oli and President Bidya Devi Bhandari separately.
According to NCP sources, the Chinese high-level team that fame with a messaof Chinese President Xi Jinping also assessed the situation after the dissolution of the House as well as ways to bring the unity process of the ruling NCP back into the track. The Prime Minister Oli’s move to dissolve the House and set dates for midterm election has not only triggered protests across the country, but also left the ruling NCP on the brink of a split.
