The centre has an elaborate working committee headed by a chairman and a dozen other executive members. The broad objectives, according to Indian assessment, of these centres are:

• Conduct development work in (Indo-Nepal) border areas with Chinese assistance.

• To propagate development work in Tibet Autonomous Region and educate Nepal on China’s position when it comes to Tibet and Taiwan.

• Convince people that China is playing a prominent role in preventing “Sikkimisation” of Nepal.

• China’s strong presence in Nepal will prevent India from interfering in Nepal’s internal affairs.

• To consolidate ties with the China Association for International Friendly Contract (CAIFC), Beijing.

The CSC, in fact, has signed a MoU with CAIFC which underlines the strong Chinese role in the functioning of this group. Only recently, the centre embarked on translating into Nepalese, the Chinese book ‘Questionnaire in connection with the unification of Taiwan’.

The growing importance of these centres can be gauged from the fact that Wang Jiarui, a high-ranking leader of the Communist Party of China, held the first policy dialogue with CSC functionaries last November. It was around that time Wang had visited India and met Congress president Sonia Gandhi to take forward party-to-party ties.

An eight-member team of the Tibet Tourism Bureau visited Nepal last year at CSC’s invitation to discuss ways to boost tourism in Tibet. While China continues to be very careful in not issuing visas for Tibet from Nepal, sources said, the objective is to use these centres as the first screening point.