Chinese State Councillor and Defence Minister Wei Fenghe on Sunday landed in Kathmandu for a daylong stopover during which he held a whirlwind of meetings with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, also the defence minister, President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Nepal Army Chief Purna Chandra Thapa before flying straight to Pakistan in the evening.

The major takeaway of Wei’s visit, according to officials, is an understanding on resuming Chinese supplies of various non-lethal military aid to Nepal, which had been halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Nepal Army said Wei also carried the message of his government that it is positive about resumption of training and student exchange programmes and following up on defence assistance that have been impacted in the wake of the pandemic.

There, however, is more to this than meets the eye.

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