China assures support for Rohingya return
Bangladesh in a major development on Friday welcomed Chinese companies to participate in the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project, in which both China and India had earlier shown interest, as the top leaders of the two friendly countries held a bilateral meeting in Beijing.
The two countries agreed to strengthen cooperation in areas of hydrological forecasting, flood prevention and water resources development besides economic and technical cooperation, according to a joint press release issued following the talks between Bangladesh鈥檚 interim government chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus and Chinese president Xi Jinping.
The meeting was held at the People鈥檚 Great Wall in Beijing earlier on the day.
鈥楾he Bangladeshi side welcomes Chinese companies to participate in the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project,鈥� said the joint press release.
China, however, commended Bangladesh for providing humanitarian assistance for the displaced people from Myanmar鈥檚 Rakhine State, and supported Bangladesh and Myanmar in finding a mutually acceptable solution through friendly consultations, according to the release.
It said that China would continue to provide support for the repatriation of Rohingyas to their homeland Myanmar to the best of its capabilities.
The two sides also agreed to strengthen exchanges on maritime affairs and hold a new round of Dialogue on Maritime Cooperation at an appropriate time, according to the release.
Professor Muhammad Yunus arrived in China on Wednesday on a four-day bilateral visit at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart, marking the 50 years of the diplomatic relations between the two countries.
During the visit, the two sides signed the 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, sports and health sector, said the joint release.
鈥楾he two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in such areas as hydrological forecasting, flood prevention and disaster reduction, river dredging, integrated management of water resources, water resources development and related technology sharing,鈥� it mentioned.
Both Dhaka and Beijing spoke positively of the signing of the implementation plan of the memorandum of understanding on the Exchange of Hydrological Information of the Yarlung Zanbo-Jamuna River.
鈥業t was Professor Yunus鈥檚 first bilateral foreign tour and so far it has been a grand success,鈥� chief adviser鈥檚 press secretary Shafiqul Alam told reporters in Beijing. 聽
He said that Chinese president Xi Jinping had assured that his country would encourage Chinese investment and relocation of Chinese manufacturing enterprises to Bangladesh, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha reported.
Chinese president Xi reiterated China鈥檚 support to Professor Yunus and his Interim Government, Shafiqul said.
He said that China would give positive consideration to a host of important issues raised by Bangladesh including a reduction in the interest rates on Chinese loans and cooperation on water resources management.
Both sides reconfirmed equal commitment to nurturing the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership with utmost importance.
The two sides also reaffirmed their mutual support on issues involving each other鈥檚 core interests and major concerns.
Bangladesh reiterated its firm commitment to the One-China principle and its position that the Government of the People鈥檚 Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China鈥檚 territory, said the joint press release, adding that Bangladesh opposes 鈥楾aiwan independence.鈥�
It also reaffirmed its readiness to create a favorable investment environment for Chinese companies.
鈥楤angladesh and China on Friday signed one agreement on economic and technical cooperation and eight MoUs on translation and production of classics, exchanges and cooperation on cultural heritage, news exchange, media, sports and health sectors,鈥� said a press release.
In addition to this, five announcements were made on the launching of formal negotiations on investment, the announcement of the commencement of the China Industrial Economic Zone, the signing of a commercial agreement for the modernisation and expansion of Mongla port, the building of a robot physiotherapy and rehabilitation centre, and the donation of a cardiac surgery vehicle, it mentioned.
In another meeting with Li Guoying, water resources minister of China, at a state guest house in Beijing later on the day, Professor Yunus on Friday sought a fifty-year master plan from China to manage the river and water system in Bangladesh.
鈥楤angladesh is a delta country; we have a country crisscrossed with hundreds of rivers. Water gives us life, but sometimes it becomes an enemy. Now that the population has increased manifold, we have to remain careful what kind of damages it causes to the ecosystem,鈥� he added.
He said that President Xi has put forward a master plan for China which the country was using to overcome the challenges in water management.
鈥榃e need your help to design the plan for us,鈥� Professor Yunus said.
He mentioned the Teesta River System and cleaning the polluted water in rivers surrounding Dhaka for particular help.
On February 18, Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen said in Dhaka that China was aware of the hardship of people living on the Teesta banks and wanted the planned development project on the transboundary river to start soon.
He told reporters that China was ready to provide assistance in the implementation of the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project, which was hanging in balance as India showed its willingness to support the same during the Sheikh Hasina government in the past year.
He said that China was willing to implement the Teesta project in phases under government-to-government cooperation and offered to begin the project with flood protection work in 2021, but did not get any feedback yet.
During the Sheikh Hasina regime, India in May 2024 expressed its willingness to support a mega development project on the Teesta inside Bangladesh, where China had already shown its interest and completed a survey there.
New Delhi has long been foot-dragging on the Teesta water-sharing treaty with Dhaka, adversely affecting the lives and livelihoods of the people in the Rangpur region.
Originating in Sikkim in India and entering Bangladesh through Lalmonirhat, the 315-kilometre-long Teesta travels more than 150 kilometres through half a dozen other districts, including Rangpur, Gaibandha, Nilphamari and Kurigram, before merging with the River Jamuna at Fulchhari.
