Chinese public opinion on Nepal's loan-grant proposal
Context
The Araniko Project, over the years, has written articles stressing understanding Chinese public opinion as a tool to understand the sentiment of the Chinese government. In this article, we will not stress that part (readers can refer to our previous articles - link at the bottom) but focus on how recent Nepal’s proposal of debt forgiveness has stirred up Chinese internet public discourse on whether it should be accepted or not.
In recent times, we have seen recurring articles and events with Nepali political party leaders or government officials requesting China to convert loan of NRS 25.88 billion from China EXIM Bank into a grant. From China, the major statement came out last year on November 14, 2023, where the MOFA spokesperson Mao Ning stressed that Chinese companies “took full consideration to the local situation, followed the quality standards strictly …