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President of Nepal Bidhya Devi Bhandari with her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at Kathmandu airport on October 12, 2019. Prakash Mathema / Pool via REUTERS

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Nepal this Saturday for a two-day official visit. On the agenda: the signing of several agreements on infrastructure projects, such as a railway that will link the two countries.

It is a rare visit that takes place this weekend in Kathmandu. The last time a Chinese president stepped on Nepal soil was Jiang Zemin in 1996.

For this occasion, Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world, did not skimp on the means to welcome the Chinese leader and celebrate more than six decades of diplomatic relations: roads redone, flowerbed, portraits of two presidents plastered all over the city, banquet in honor of the Chinese leader.

This visit is crucial for this landlocked country between India and China, which hopes to revive and strengthen bilateral relations. The ruling Nepalese Communist Party has prepared 11 draft priority agreements to boost economic development. The vast majority are infrastructure projects, including the construction of a railway that would link the capital to the Chinese border.

These projects are part of the Chinese initiative for new silk roads, but also illustrates Beijing's desire to bring Nepal out of its Indian zone of influence.

► See also: Nepal signs an agreement with China, turning geostrategic in the region