Bri And Nepal: A Soft Power Diplomacy Analysis

Abstract

China is Nepal’s northern neighbor. It is the world’s nation by geography and an economic giant while Nepal is medium sized country with a dwarf economy. Nations share a harmonious yet limited relation as they differ widely in culture, language and food. Also the landscape of their bordering area is mountainous and rocky making the movement of people and goods difficult. However with initiatives adopted by China under Belt Road Initiative (BRI) project, the bilateral relation is taking new heights with increased exchange at both government and public level. BRI symbolizes China’s unprecedented ambition for global connectivity as the project aims to lay the infrastructure for intraregional cross border connectivity. Nye categories power into three areas hard, soft and smart. Hard comprises of military and economy, soft power covers culture, values and foreign policy while smart power is a combination of both. BRI is an intercontinental infrastructural project centered on areas of hard power like trade and political cooperation among nation however it also has significant aspect of soft power attached as funds are allocate specifically to promote Chines culture and values globally. China’s soft power diplomacy through BRI in Nepal has been a visible phenomenon. Mushrooming confusions centers, student exchange program, scholarship programs, china study centers and language centers funded under BRI initiative confirms the above statement. China’s soft power diplomacy will bear significant implication on Nepal therefore it is vital to study the BRI phenomenon closely and minutely.