Bangladesh Interim government chief Muhammad Yunus on Friday met China‘s president Xi Jinping in Beijing and discussed issues related to bilateral ties amid strained relations with India following the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024.
According to Bangladeshi media reports, the meeting took place in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
During his visit, Bangladesh’s interim leader, Yunus, has reportedly urged China’s Xi Jinping to reduce interest rates for Chinese loans from 3% to 1-2%, while also seeking a waiver on commitment fees for Chinese-funded projects.
The call was made yesterday during Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus’s bilateral meeting with Chinese Executive Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in Hainan, reported The Daily Star.
A ‘Trustworthy Neighbour’
During the interaction, Xi said China continues to be a trustworthy neighbour, friend and partner of Bangladesh.
China maintains a high degree of stability and continuity in its good neighbor and friendly policy toward Bangladesh, Xi was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of China-Bangladesh diplomatic ties, and 2025 is also the year of people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, Xi said, while expressing the willingness to work with Bangladesh to push China-Bangladesh cooperation to a new level and bring more benefits to the two peoples.
Xi said the two sides have always supported each other and treated each other as equals for win-win cooperation since the establishment of diplomatic ties, reported the Chinese news agency.
Yunus, who took charge of the interim government last year, marked his first bilateral state visit to China.
He has not visited India amid diplomatic tension with the neighbouring economic powerhouse.
Belt Road Cooperation
Yunus’s press Secretary, Shafiqul Alam, wrote on Facebook: “The two sides agreed to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, strengthen international cooperation on industrial and supply chains and work together to achieve modernization in both countries.”
“China will continue to support Bangladesh in improving infrastructure and advancing industrialization, and encourage Chinese companies to conduct investment cooperation with Bangladesh in such fields as textile and garment, clean energy, digital economy, agriculture and manufacturing in accordance with commercial principles and market-based approaches,” Alam said.
“Bangladesh welcomes Chinese companies to participate in the Mongla Port Facilities Modernization and Expansion Project, and stands ready to work with the Chinese side to further develop the Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone (CEIZ) in Chattogram,” he said.
He said the two sides underscored the importance of initiating negotiations on the China-Bangladesh Free Trade Agreement at an early date and officially starting negotiations on optimizing the China-Bangladesh Investment Agreement.
Nine Agreements
The two countries signed nine instruments, including an agreement on economic and technical cooperation between the two governments and other cooperation documents on development, translation and publication of classics, exchanges and cooperation on cultural heritage, news exchange and media and health sector, media reports said.
The two countries signed eight MoUs on translation and production of classics, exchanges and cooperation on cultural heritage, news exchange, media, sports and health sectors, Chief Adviser’s Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder told UNB.
(With inputs from IBNS)
