Hua Chunying, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said that Nepal’s friendly close neighbor and development partner. “China will continue to support the Nepalese people in choosing independently their own development path and offer support and assistance to Nepal’s socioeconomic development to the best of its capability."

Responding to a query about the tabling of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact in Nepal's parliament at the regular press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China on Wednesday in Beijing, she even questioned how a gift could 'come with a package of an ultimatum'.

Detail of Response

China News Service: According to reports, the Nepalese government’s decision to submit the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) agreement with the US in Parliament a few days ago has triggered a huge controversy as mass protests were held in places like Kathmandu. The US State Department said that Nepal’s failure to ratify the compact will impact bilateral relations. Some analysts say that the MCC agreement gives itself higher authority than Nepal’s domestic law, US program staff’s activities in Nepal will not be subjected to local jurisdiction, and the project’s accounting and audit is supervised, managed and conducted by the US side. Experts in Nepal believe that accepting the MCC will be detrimental to Nepal’s security and sovereignty. Do you have any comment?

Hua Chunying: I noticed that a US State Department spokesperson said earlier that Nepal’s failure to ratify the MCC compact will affect bilateral ties. The US Embassy in Nepal described the $500 million MCC grant as “a gift from the American people to Nepalis”. I wonder, since when does a gift come with the package of an ultimatum? How can anyone accept such a “gift”? Is it a “gift” or Pandora’s box? I’m afraid it will turn out like a Nepalese saying: It looks good, but you will find the meat difficult to chew.

“It is China’s consistent belief that in pursuing international development cooperation, the principle of mutual respect and equality should be upheld, the sovereignty of the country concerned and the will of its people should be fully respected, and there should be no interference in any country’s domestic affairs, no political strings attached, no coercive diplomacy, and certainly no infringement on other countries’ sovereignty and interests for selfish gains. As Nepal’s friendly close neighbor and development partner, China will continue to support the Nepalese people in choosing independently their own development path and offer support and assistance to Nepal’s socioeconomic development to the best of its capability.”

"As Nepal’s friendly close neighbor and development partner, China will continue to support the Nepalese people in choosing independently their own development path and offer support and assistance to Nepal’s socioeconomic development to the best of its capability."

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