Prime Minister Oli Meets Chinese President Xi in Tianjin, Raises Lipulekh Issue

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin on Saturday, shortly after arriving in China to attend the 25th Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the SCO Plus meeting.

According to the Prime Minister’s private secretariat, the two leaders held talks in a cordial atmosphere at the Tianjin Guest House on Saturday afternoon.

During the meeting, Oli expressed Nepal’s objection to the recent India-China agreement to reopen trade through Lipulekh in Darchula district, which lies within Nepal’s territory.

“During the meeting with President Xi, the prime minister clearly conveyed Nepal’s objection to the India-China agreement to develop Nepali territory Lipulekh as a trade route,” the prime minister’s secretariat quoted Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai, who was present at the bilateral meeting. Referring to the 1816 Sugauli Treaty—which recognises the areas east of the Mahakali River as Nepal’s sovereign territory—the prime minister urged China to respect Nepal’s position.

“We believe China will support Nepal in this matter,” Oli said.

The talks also reviewed the state of bilateral relations and focused on expanding cooperation across various sectors. Both sides agreed to advance ties through existing mechanisms.

Earlier in the afternoon, Oli landed at Tianjin Binhai International Airport and described his meeting with Xi as “fruitful.”

“Glad to meet President Xi for the second consecutive year and hold fruitful bilateral talks,” Oli later wrote on Twitter. “We reviewed progress on various issues and agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation. I thank President Xi for inviting me to the SCO Plus Summit.”

This is Oli’s second visit to China in less than a year. His current trip comes at the invitation of President Xi to participate in the SCO Summit, which begins later this week.