Liu, a senior leader of the Chinese Communist Party, arrived in Kathmandu

Foreign Department Chief of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Liu Jianchao, arrived here this morning, leading an eight-member delegation.

Officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed him at the Tribhuvan International Airport.

This is Liu's first visit to Nepal after his appointment as the Foreign Department Chief. During his four-day visit to Nepal, he is scheduled to hold discussions with leaders including President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, Foreign Minister Dr Narayan Khadka, CPN (UML) Chairman KP Sharma Oli and CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'.

Foreign Minister Liu will stay at Hotel Dwarika. This is the second high-level visit from neighboring China since Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Nepal last April.

After being appointed to the State Department, he had audio-visual dialogues with the top leadership of the ruling Nepali Congress and the Maoist Center, the main opposition party, the CPN (UML).