Chief of Army Staff of the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA), General Pyar Jung Thapa, has met with Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), in Beijing today.

Xinhua reports that Jia told General Thapa that China appreciates supports from Nepal on issues of Taiwan, Tibet and human rights. Thapa said that China, as real friend of Nepal, respects the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Nepal and never interferes in the country’s internal affairs.

The visit by the Nepalese delegation comes at a time when the EU fears a political collapse in Nepal. Arms sales to Nepal by India, the United States and the EU have been frozen since the royal takeover in February this year and Nepal is seeking alternate sources of arms and ammunition to fight the nine-year-old Maoist insurgency. The Nepalese authorities’ recent attempts to curtail religious and cultural activities of exile Tibetans living there and harsh new restrictions on refugees fleeing Tibet for Nepal are widely thought to be a direct result of China’s increased leverage in Kathmandu.