peaking to media-persons at the Tribhuvan International Airport before departing for China on a China Air flight, he said his visit is solely focused on participating in the Shanghai Expo 2010 and that he has no such plans as of now to engage in high-level political parleys with Chinese leaders and government officials. He, however, didn't deny the possibility of such meetings taking place.

When asked what he has to say regarding Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal's complaint that the Maoist chairman is overlooking his requests to arrange time to discuss the issue of budget, Dahal said, "It is wrong of him (PM Nepal) to say that I haven't given time. The taskforce (formed to iron out differences on the various political issues including the budget and which Dahal heads) is meeting regularly and doing its work fine."

He further said that he will deliver two key note speeches at a special interaction to be held at the sidelines of the event in Shanghai, the main financial city of the world's second largest economy during his visit.

Dahal is accompanied by party's foreign department chief Krishna Bahadur Mahara, and his top aides.

Top party leaders including vice vhairmen Mohan Baidya and Dr Baburam Bhattarai and senior leader Ram Bahadur Thapa were at the TIA to bid Dahal farewell.

"There will be bilateral talks during the meeting," Maoist politburo member Agni Sapkota, who is also accompanying Dahal during the trip, said without revealing if Dahal will meet Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Dahal is heading to China a day after an eleven-member team of the UCPN (Maoist) party, most of them military commanders, returned from China after a nine-day long "private trip".

During their trip, the Maoist commanders are known to have met leaders of the Chinese Communist Party along with those overseeing the military affairs. They went to Beijing via Lhasa.

The Maoist strongman is heading to China at a very critical juncture in national politics when numerous rounds of election has failed to find a replacement to the current caretaker government, thus deepening the political deadlock in the country.

Vice President Paramananda Jha left had also left for China on Thursday. 

nepalnews.com