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China defies world to back embattled Nepal king

REUTERS, Kathmandu
China became the first major country yesterday to voice support for Nepal's King Gyanendra as the Chinese foreign minister ended a visit to the Himalayan nation globally isolated since the monarch seized power.
"The international community should respect the choice made by the Nepali people," Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Wu Dawei told a news briefing in Beijing.
"We support the king and the government of Nepal to ensure national stability and reconciliation and for economic development," Wu said.
Beijing had earlier described as Nepal's internal affair the king's move in February to sack the government, declare a state of emergency and arrest political leaders. The rest of the world urged Gyanendra to restore democracy.
The latest comments could spark concerns in India -- Nepal's giant neighbour to the south and a key trading partner -- which, along with Britain and the United States, has pressured Gyanendra to revoke his decisions.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is due to tour South Asia next week and will be aiming to cement an improvement in Sino-Indian ties when he visits New Delhi.
Wu's comments came as Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing -- the first senior foreign official to visit Kathmandu since Gyanendra took power -- rounded off talks with the monarch in what is seen as a signal that China would maintain friendly
ties with Nepal.
"The visit was full of positive results," Li told reporters at Kathmandu airport before leaving for the Maldives.
"We'll continue to make it even more fruitful for the benefit of our people," he said without elaborating.
Gyanendra justified his decision to assume power as a necessary move to crush a nine-year Maoist revolt in which more than 11,000 people have been killed.
The Maoists have been fighting since 1996 to replace the Hindu monarchy with a communist republic. They have called for a 11-day general strike across the landlocked nation from Saturday to protest over Gyanendra's assumption of power.
The Nepali army said it had stepped up security along highways, and soldiers would escort trucks carrying supplies to the capital.
"We'll make sure that there is no shortage of essential goods in Kathmandu," Brigadier General Dipak Gurung told Reuters. "We have taken steps to neutralise their move."
Nepalese generally heed rebel strike calls and few drivers dare to defy their ban on vehicles.
In February, the Maoists killed a driver and set several buses and cars on fire for defying a road blockade, disrupting supplies of petroleum products and essential goods to the hill-ringed capital for two weeks.
Officials said Kathmandu, home to 1.5 million people, had stocks of fuel and food supplies to last more than a month.