Kathmandu, April 23 -- The geopolitical rivalry between Beijing and Washington played out in real time in Kathmandu on Tuesday, as officials from the two powers held near parallel meetings and sent pointed messages to the Nepal government.

The overlapping diplomatic outreach by Beijing and Kathmandu brought to mind tensions last seen during the 2022 ratification of the US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Nepal Compact. At a time when Kathmandu was hosting US Assistant Secretary of State Samir Paul Kapur, a senior diplomat from Beijing was also in town and meeting senior government officials on Tuesday.

Hours after Kapur concluded his meeting with Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal and Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle, Deputy Director Ge...