If things go as planned, one day soon Chinese trains will pull into Kathmandu, Nepal, on a new railroad built to lessen the landlocked Himalayan country’s dependence on India.
The proposed China-Nepal railroad, among a clutch of infrastructure deals signed by Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli in Beijing last week, underscores a new geopolitical reality. China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative is extending Beijing’s influence deep inside countries that India sees as part of its sphere of influence. From railroads in...