By Upendra Gautam

Sino-Nepali diplomatic ties duly re-established 53 years ago on 1 August, 1955 are poised for new challenges and opportunities. The time these ties were re-established was no less challenging either.

Challenges at that time basically pertained to conducting international affairs independently and in the sovereign manner. But the prevailing Cold War sought to expand aggressive designs and spheres of influence in the name of transferring ideology and establishing security bloc.

Relatively weak and small nations who were asserting independence to a fuller extent were more vulnerable to the Cold War machinations.

China's rise as a "People's Republic" and its immediate weak and small neighbors including Nepal and other countries with different social systems provided a major incentive to the Cold War powers and their allies to reach out to China's these neighbors in whatever expedient ways. In that context it was not easy for Nepal to move ahead in a planned way in re-establishing ties with China.

Reflecting over those times, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai said in his speech on September 30, 1950, "China shall never tolerate any foreign invasion nor shall watch it taking place in any neighboring country with folded arms."

Withstanding the challenges emanating from foreign aggressive designs and interference, China and Nepal were able to base the bilateral ties on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, including the principles of peaceful co-existence and non-interference in each other's internal matters.

Any matter which was prejudicial to China's territorial integrity such as status of Tibet or for that matter its "independence" were never raised during the re-establishment of bilateral ties as Nepal throughout in history - recent or past - never recognized Tibet as an independent state.