In a potential counter to the increasing presence of the United States, the Chinese State Councillor, Wang Yi, visited Nepal on the March 25, 2022, and signed nine agreements with the Government of Nepal. The agreements ranged from railway links to non-tariff agreements and the development of the energy sector. Nepal-China relations have been fraught for the past two years, given the non-official blockade of trade and other issues that cropped up during the Covid-19 pandemic.