They want to annex Nepal. So they decry things that make Nepal more independent. But giving aid makes Nepal more dependant on China, not less.

The Dalai Lama is from Tibet, not Nepal.

China is trying to build their soft power.

China’s issue with the Dalai Lama stems more from trying to control Tibet than anything to do with Nepal, since the Dalai Lama had government as well as religious power in Tibet when it was independent.

China and India have been quarrelling in regards to its shared border and control over the Himalayan Mountains with the smaller kingdoms acting as buffer states between the two. Chinese help to Nepal is likely a push to gain soft power in Nepal which could be useful in later China-India disputes.

China and Nepal have had some territorial disputes, but they are relatively minor compared to other nations. China is also investing in infrastructure to link Nepal to China.

What China is doing is pretty typical for a major power in trying to project soft power to a smaller nation playing both sides of a dispute. I don’t see China wanting to annex Nepal, but to keep it in its sphere of influence. Economic aid after a disaster is a typical action to buy good will.

This is more like a “winning of hearts and minds” I guess.

The Chinese side of the story is heavily censored and only has official reported numbers (likely tampered with, knowing China) and some propaganda pieces, but this is very much a Chinese national emergency as well. The Guardian’s latest reporting claimed that the Chinese officials reported 16 deaths and 546 missing, while Nepal’s numbers are 675 deaths and 2,498 missing

Maybe there are ulterior motives, but I think given the extent of the disaster, it is much more likely that China treated it as a top-priority national emergency, so might as well help out the neighbors with any extra manpower as well