Dhaka seeks reduction in loan interest
China and Bangladesh on Thursday agreed to deepen their relationship with Beijing saying it would extend full support to the interim government of the country.
Chinese executive vice-premier Ding Xuexiang and Bangladesh interim government chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus led a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in Hainan province of China.
The two countries also聽 agreed to boost investment, trade and cultural ties, people-to-people exchanges as they mark 50 years of the establishment of their diplomatic relationship, according to a press release of the Chief Adviser鈥檚 press wing.聽
鈥楶resident Xi Jinping attaches tremendous importance to your visit,鈥� vice-premier Ding said, adding that China hopes Bangladesh would prosper and grow under the leadership of Professor Yunus.
The Bangladesh interim government chief adviser on Wednesday arrived in China on a four-day bilateral visit.
During the meeting, Professor Yunus reiterated the country鈥檚 firm commitment to the One-China policy, saying that Dhaka takes pride in being the first South Asian country to join China鈥檚 Belt and Road Initiative.
Dhaka sought Chinese support in an array of development and livelihood projects and also called for reduction in interest rates for Chinese loans from 3 per cent to 1-2 per cent for Bangladesh, according to the release.
It also sought a waiver of commitment fees on the Chinese-funded projects in Bangladesh.
Yunus also sought Beijing鈥檚 help in facilitating the relocation of the Chinese manufacturing industries, including ready-made garments, electric vehicles, light machinery, high-tech electronics, chip manufacturing and the solar panel industry.
Vice-premier Ding Xuexiang said that Beijing would extend duty-free and quota-free access to Bangladeshi goods to China until 2028 鈥� two years after Dhaka graduates from a Least Developed Country to a middle-income economy.
Beijing is also keen to start free trade negotiations with Dhaka, he said.
The executive vice-premier said that his country would fund modernisation efforts of the Mongla Port and the Dasherkandi Sewage project.
The vice-premier said that China last year signed a protocol to import mangoes from Bangladesh.
Beijing would also import jackfruit and guava and other aquatic products from the country in its attempt to minimise huge trade imbalance between the two countries, he said.
He said that the Chinese government and its universities would grant more scholarships to Bangladeshi students.聽
Several thousand Bangladeshi students are already studying in Chinese universities.
The vice-premier assured Bangladesh of Chinese funding for the purchase of four ocean-going vessels for Dhaka鈥檚 state-run Bangladesh Shipping Corporation.
He said that Beijing would foster dialogue between Bangladesh and Myanmar in an effort to resolve the Rohingya crisis.
The chief adviser thanked the Chinese leadership for their support, saying Thursday鈥檚 meeting 鈥榤arks another milestone in the ever-deepening Bangladesh-China partnership鈥�.
Foreign adviser Md Touhid Hossain, energy, rail and road transport adviser Fouzul Kabir Khan, high representative of the chief adviser, Khalilur Rahman, and BIDA (Bangladesh Investment Development Authority) executive chairman Ashiq Chowdhury were present during the meeting.
Professor Yunus and Chinese president Xi Jinping are scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting at the Great Wall of China in Beijing today.