All treaties and agreements pertaining to Nepal's ties with Tibet were signed between the competent authorities of China and Nepal. Ample evidences to this historical fact are Sino-Nepali Treaty of 1792, Sino-Nepali Treaty of Thapathali of 1856 and the 1956 Agreement between China and Nepal on the maintenance of friendship and trade and transport between Tibet region of China and Nepal. The 1956 Agreement replaced the 1856 Treaty.
State leaders who contributed to developing stable Sino-Nepali ties were Nepali kings Mahendra (1955-1972) and Birendra (1972-2001), and prime ministers Tanka Prasad Acharya (1956-1957) and B.P. Koirala (1959-1960). G.P. Koirala, who occupied the seat of premiership for the most part of the Nepali multi-party politics from 1990 to 2008, happened to be more intricately circumscribed by political expediency.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that in the said period and in the backdrop of China's West China Development Strategy, it was he who was courageous enough to sign six cooperation agreements, including the second road link between the two countries in 2001 with visiting Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji. From the Chinese side, Chairman Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai, Vice-premier Deng Xiaoping, Vice-premier Huang Hua and President Jiang Zemin not only nurtured China's Nepal ties with a personal touch but often evaluated it highly as a model of state-to-state relations.
The bilateral ties suffered a deep shock in June, 2001 when the entire family of King Birendra was annihilated in a Royal Palace massacre in Kathmandu.
In hindsight, the condemnable massacre brought to the fore a new Cold War already in the making in the region.
It is a "Cold War" because covert, tacit and subversive games are still its basic operational character. The old Cold War camp which could not deter the successful restoration of bilateral ties between Nepal and China in 1950s seems to have been at work to regroup itself in the new form with the comparative differences in abilities listed above.
This camp deliberately plays down independence, national interest and security of the weak and small nations not belonging to the camp in the name of the new Cold War consideration. This camp seemed to be shaken by unconfirmed reports that King Birendra was negotiating hand in glove with the anti-government force or the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M). The CPN-M had since 1996 been waging a "people's war" for "equitable" changes and reforms in Nepal's domestic and international policies.
