As Beijing Spreads Its Tentacles, Nepalese Grow Wary of Chinese Debt Burden

As Beijing Spreads Its Tentacles, Nepalese Grow Wary of Chinese Debt Burden
Nepal's Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli reviews a military honour guard with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 21, 2018. Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images
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KATHMANDU, Nepal—It’s not very often that the United States and China, countries locked in a bitter trade spat, engage in a war of words concerning a small South Asian country.

But that’s exactly what happened between Joe Felter, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for South and Southeast Asia, and Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu late last month.