PRC/NEPAL: TANG JIAXUN POSTPONES TRIP AFTER

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 002778 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/15/2016 TAGS: PREL PTER NP CH SUBJECT: PRC/NEPAL: TANG JIAXUN POSTPONES TRIP AFTER NEPAL'S CONTESTED ELECTIONS; RELATIONS WITH BHUTAN REF: A. KATHMANDU 404 ¶B. 2005 BEIJING 2486 ¶C. 2005 BEIJING 4059 ¶D. 2005 BEIJING 20655 Classified By: Political External Unit Chief Edgard Kagan. Reasons 1.4 (b/d) ¶1. (C) Summary. State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan has postponed his trip to Nepal originally scheduled for later this week, according to MFA Director for India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan Huang Xilian. China views King Gyanendra as "only one of the important forces" that could bring peace and stability to Nepal, Huang said. Beijing is interested in U.S. relations with Bhutan. End Summary. Tang Cancels Trip to Nepal -------------- ¶2. (C) State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan postponed his trip to Nepal originally scheduled for later this week (ref A), according to MFA Director for India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan Huang Xilian. In a February 14 meeting, Huang said that China would continue to promote its bilateral relations with Nepal through routine high-level visits. However, Huang disingenuously said that Tang's trip was never confirmed and ascribed the cancellation of Tang's trip to the upcoming March 5 National People's Congress. Poloff noted that King Gyanendra might have perceived Tang's visit to Nepal as implying PRC support for the February 8 municipal elections. PRC Supports Reconciliation, Has Contact With Opposition -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) Stressing that China believes King Gyanendra remains in full command of the situation in Nepal even after the municipal elections, Huang corrected Poloff's query on whether or not Beijing views the King as the best vehicle for bringing stability to Nepal, saying Gyanendra "is not the best but one of many important forces" in Nepal. Beijing is watching closely the fallout from the February 8 elections and Huang was noncommittal when Poloff asked about PRC views on the low voter turnout throughout the country and particularly in the King's stronghold of Katmandu. China adheres to its foreign policy of noninterference and believes the different political parties in Nepal will find a means to reconcile, according to Huang, who added that China maintains a "comprehensive friendly policy" including contact with Nepal's opposition parties. He emphasized strongly that Beijing has no contact with the Maoists and asked pointedly whether India was involved with bringing the political parties and the Maoists together. Huang noted that the PRC agrees with Ambassador Moriarty's public statements about the partnership between the Maoists and the political parties. Beijing Backing Away From the King? -------------- ¶4. (C) Comment: We note with interest that over the course of the past year the PRC has moved from stressing the importance of support for the King (Refs B and C) to saying that it is in contact with opposition parties (Ref D) to now saying that the Gyanendra is just "one of many forces" in Nepal. End Comment Status of U.S. Relations with Bhutan -------------- ¶5. (C) Huang requested information on the status of the United States relations with Bhutan and was interested to know if the United States was negotiating the establishment of diplomatic relations. Beijing does not have diplomatic relations with Bhutan but the two countries have foreign minister level contacts on unresolved border issues. Each side receives the other as an official delegation when holding border talks. Huang said that there was not much difference in the two sides positions but that resolution of the border dispute will take sometime. Poloff queried if the China-India border dispute had to be settled first and Huang said that it could be viewed that way. Randt