Geography gives Nepal proximity. Diplomacy builds relationships. Capability determines what Nepal can do with them.
Nepal’s history with China stretches back to the Kirat dynasty and shared civilizational roots, through Buddhism and figures like Araniko, the Nepali architect who built Beijing’s white pagoda, to centuries of trade tied to Nepal’s position between two great empires.
Once an open border teeming with the flow of nomads, trade, and social relations, today the Korala border is institutionalized, reflecting the inequalities between Nepal and its northern neighbor.