China's Nepal envoy Chen Song faces local ire after public spat with intellectuals

China's ambassador to Nepal, Chen Song, is the new "wolf warrior diplomat" in South Asia, having kicked up a controversy targeting a local journalist who criticised China's loan policy for Nepal.

Wolf warrior diplomacy refers to hyper public diplomacy by Chinese diplomats targeting host governments, visible since the Covid-19 pandemic.

China has been accused of charging high interest on mega projects in the Himalayan nation, violating formal agreements in this regard.

Nepal's public intellectuals lashed out at Chen after he demanded a public apology from local journalist Gajendra Budhathoki, editor of Taksar Magazine, on social media over a post on X. The May 27 post claimed that Nepal had taken a loan from China to build the Pokhara Regional International Airport at an interest rate of five per cent, contrary to the two per cent mentioned in official documents.

"We demand a formal apology from you and whoever you represent," Chen wrote on X. "If you have the document, publish it. If you don't and need time to find proof, then what kind of intention is this? Spreading lies first, then waiting for the tide to subside, and spreading them again."

Budhathoki responded on X, "Do not intimidate me. Know your boundaries, Chen. I have evidence from the Nepal government."

He further said, "The personal attack and threat that I faced from the Chinese envoy and people loyal to him over my social media remarks have raised questions regarding my security."

Chen's predecessor in Nepal had also come under heavy criticism. She reportedly tried to forge unity among the communist parties of the Himalayan nation and was accused of trying to influence Nepal's politics.

Several public intellectuals in Nepal said the Chinese envoy's remarks were beyond the norms of standard diplomatic conduct. "It is unusual for a foreign ambassador to demand an apology from a host country journalist for a social media post. He could refute or ask the government to clarify. The foreign ministry should remind the ambassador of the limits of 'public diplomacy' and the risks of direct engagement," former foreign secretary Madhu Raman Acharya wrote on X.

Former editor of The Himalayan Times, Ajaya Bhadra Khanal, said in a post on X, "The @PRCAmbNepal could have just said the information is wrong instead of overreacting to @gbudhathoki and threatening him. It just displays the Chinese ambassador's arrogance and his overbearing mentality."

The incident comes in the backdrop of Chinese efforts to include Pokhran airport in its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which were dismissed by Nepal as it is not a signatory to the BRI. Nepal has been cautious of borrowing for mega projects. BRI has been seen as a means of pushing countries into a debt trap. China has been accused of increasing the rate of interest on loans midway through contracts.