Nepal Reaffirms Balanced India-China Policy; Pushes Trade, Connectivity

Nepal wants to maintain a balanced relationship with all friendly countries, including neighbours India and China, while giving priority to economic diplomacy and a foreign policy based on national interest, Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said, as reported by India Today.

His recent visits to New Delhi and Beijing in June 2026 marked the first high-level contacts since Nepal's new government took office in March 2026.

Khanal described his trip to India as a "special one" that aimed to foster cordial relations with neighbours and development partners. The new administration seeks to attract more foreign investment through effective economic diplomacy.

"We are effortful to maintain a balanced relationship with all friendly countries, including neighbours India and China, stress on economic diplomacy and to pursue a new style of diplomacy based on national interest and maintain natural relations with all countries," Khanal said.

Strengthening Ties With India

During his visit to India from June 5 to 7, Khanal held wide-ranging talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and also met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. The discussions placed economic collaboration as the focal point.

"We have placed economic collaboration as the focal point during the discussions. As bilateral mechanisms have become active and operational as a result of my recent official visit to India. The visit may be termed as a special one," Khanal told the National News Agency of Nepal, as India Today reported.

The two sides held result-oriented discussions on trade, energy, connectivity, investment and border management. Both sides expressed their commitment to resolve border issues and misunderstandings that surfaced over the past few years.

The trip came against the backdrop of a controversy triggered by Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah's remarks in May 2026 on the boundary row. Shah suggested involving China and the UK to resolve the issue, but New Delhi categorically rejected any third-party role.

Expanding Engagement With Beijing

Following his India trip, Khanal visited Beijing on a four-day official visit starting June 14. He held comprehensive talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other senior political leaders to deepen bilateral cooperation.

"We want to attract more foreign investment by pursuing effective economic diplomacy," Khanal said.

The discussions in Beijing covered infrastructure, connectivity, border management, energy, trade, investment, agriculture, technology transfer, information technology and strengthening people-to-people relations. Khanal said Nepal is effortful to expand cooperation in several other areas to build natural relations with all countries. The new government is trying to deepen ties with both neighbours through balanced engagement and discussions focused on trade, connectivity and investment.