Nepal's Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal began his first official trip to China over the weekend - he left for Xi'an yesterday afternoon after arriving in Lhasa on Saturday.

Chinese assistance on hydropower development and major road projects will top his agenda, Nepal's Kantipur Daily said, quoting Energy Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat, who is accompanying the prime minister during the six-day trip which will also take him to Beijing and Shanghai.

Nepal, who took over as prime minister of the Himalayan nation in May, met with Tibet autonomous region government chairman Qiangba Puncog in Lhasa, according to Nepal media.

Experts said Nepal choosing Lhasa to be the first leg of his visit signals that the nation is looking forward to maintaining stability along its 1,400-km border with China, and beefing up economic cooperation.

Before his trip, the premier met with representatives of the 25 parties in parliament to brief them about the visit, and reiterated that his country would adhere to the one-China policy and would not allow anyone to use Nepal's territory for anti-China acts, according to Xinhua.

The two neighbors share a lasting history of friendship, said Ma Jiali, researcher with the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.

"The prime minister's visit can achieve two goals at the same time", he said.

First, the trip is in accordance with the Nepali people's desire to further strengthen the bilateral relationship, Ma said.

Second, both China and Nepal expect to make headway in multi-lateral cooperation, and therefore, the prime minister's visit is considered "timely".

The trip follows a wave of protests staged by the main opposition Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) which had paralyzed the functioning of the country's parliament.

"The visit looks as if the prime minister is seeking help," Zhou Hongjiang, an expert at Beijing-based Peking University, told China Daily.

"Leaders are expected to touch upon the matter, but Beijing won't make a promise of support since that is Nepal's internal affair," he said.

The Maoists won elections in Nepal last year but quit the government in May after the country's first president refused their demand to sack the chief of the army.

President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and top legislator Wu Bangguo will meet with the prime minister.

Before his departure, Nepal told journalists in Kathmandu that the goodwill visit is expected to raise economic and technological cooperation to new highs.

Official figures show that bilateral trade volume reached $304 million in the first 10 months this year.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said last week that China's established policy was to consolidate and develop good-neighborly, friendly and cooperative relations with Nepal on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.

In response to a question on whether Nepal would discuss his country's domestic situation with Chinese leaders during his visit, Jiang said the Nepali domestic situation was the internal affair of the country.

(China Daily 12/28/2009 page1)