Abstract
Amid intensifying India-China-US rivalry, Nepal, located in the lap of Himalayas, has emerged as the critical fulcrum in South Asia, whose alignment tips regional power dynamics. This article analyses how Beijing leverages its newly launched Four Global Initiatives (4GIs) i.e. Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI), the Global Civilisational Initiative (GCI), and the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) between 2021–2025 as sophisticated vectors for expanding its peculiar Human Intelligence (HUMINT) operations. Following the 2025 Gen Z-led “Nepo Baby” uprising and the Oli government’s removal, Beijing pivoted from ideological patronage to pragmatic co-optation. As Nepal increasingly aligns with Chinese economic-security frameworks, it inadvertently enables HUMINT embedding under development cover. Through the 4GIs prism, this study reveals how benign looking initiatives cloaks a strategic HUMINT soft power convergence aimed at stabilising the fragile Balen Shah regime, normalising Pax Sinica norms, and transforming Kathmandu’s democracy into a compliant node in Beijing’s intelligence-driven architecture, hence securing Nepal as a crucible for China’s narrative war and regional dominance.
Keywords: Human Intelligence (HUMINT), Global Development Initiative (GDI), Global Security Initiative (GSI), Global Civilisational Initiative (GCI), Global Governance Initiative (GGI)
