Beyond the BRI: the volumetric presence of China in Nepal

This paper conceptualizes ‘presence’ to analyse the volumetric growth of Chinese investment and development in Nepal from 2014 to 2021 in material, territorial and discursive terms. From physical experiences with earthquake disaster to the symbolic potency of Chinese infrastructure, this paper offers presence as a heuristic to evaluate China’s rising prominence in Nepal and multidirectional projections of geopolitical power. The analysis is framed by three key periods: material interactions in 2014–15, including significant increases at scale of Chinese foreign direct investment and Nepal’s invitation and acceptance of Chinese humanitarian aid in pre- and post-disaster contexts; territorial transformations in 2016–19, indexed by diplomatic negotiations and bilateral security commitments over Tibetan and Himalayan populations codified in policy agreements on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) programme in Nepal; and new discursive depths reached in 2020–21, demonstrated by the paradox that while very little BRI development work has been accomplished to date, China’s growing presence in Nepal is routinely articulated through the BRI. Arguing that volumetric sovereignty over subjects and spaces operates materially, territorially and discursively, I transect a multitude of Himalayan spaces to contribute to more critical understandings of Global China and move the analytical bar not only across Nepal but also, more importantly, well beyond the BRI.