Assuring China’s continued support towards Bangladesh’s journey to modernization, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen on Thursday said the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is the most compatible and befitting development cooperation with ‘Vision 2041’ and ‘Smart Bangladesh’.

“China stands ready to work with Bangladesh to tighten the ties of cooperation and embrace a new stage of Belt and Road cooperation of higher quality at higher level,” he said while speaking as the chief guest at a programme titled ‘BRI@10: Ushering in Next Golden Decade’.

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The envoy said China will fully leverage its economic complementarity and strengthen cooperation on infrastructure development, ICT, new energy, agriculture and so on, to usher in the next golden decade of Belt and Road cooperation.

He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina spoke highly of the BRI, that it has opened a new door for Bangladesh’s development.

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President of Chinese Enterprises Association in Bangladesh (CEAB), Ke Changliang, spoke as the chief guest at the event organized by Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB).

DCAB President Rezaul Karim Lotus delivered the welcome and closing remarks at the event conducted by DCAB General Secretary Emrul Kayesh.

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On the journey of Belt and Road cooperation, the ambassador said Bangladesh and China have always been good friends with mutual trust and good partners in seeking common development.

In 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping made a historic visit to Bangladesh, where he and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced a new era of China-Bangladesh Belt and Road cooperation. Since then, the envoy said, China and Bangladesh have sowed the seeds of hope, which have sprouted and blossomed under the hard work and care of the two peoples.

“Over the past seven years, we have built 12 highways, 21 bridges and 27 power and energy projects in Bangladesh, contributing to turn the dreams of the Bangladeshi people into reality,” said the envoy.

Over the past seven years, Chinese investment in Bangladesh has grown from USD 241 million to nearly USD 1.4 billion.

At present, there are nearly 700 Chinese enterprises operating in Bangladesh.

“As CEAB President Ke just shared, these enterprises are active practitioners deeply cultivating in Bangladesh,” said Ambassador Yao.

They assumed social responsibilities in Bangladesh and have made significant contributions to economic development, environmental protection, community services, public welfare and charity by creating more than 550,000 jobs in Bangladesh.

Over the past seven years, he said, the two countries have deepened cultural exchanges, and the hearts of the two peoples have come closer and closer.

Ambassador Yao said Chinese President Xi Jinping has also put forward the Global Development Initiative (GDI) aiming at supporting the timely achievement of all 17 Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

It promotes international cooperation in eight priority areas: poverty alleviation, food security, pandemic response and vaccines, financing for development, climate change and green development, industrialization, digital economy and connectivity in the digital era, he said.

“All these are also the focus of Bangladesh in its Vision 2041 perspective plan,” Ambassador Yao said, adding that it is hoped that Bangladesh would make good use of China’s aid, preferential loans and the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund to actively carry out policy dialogue, experience sharing, capacity building and practical cooperation, thereby bring about more tangible benefits to the two peoples and make joint contribution to the early realization of the Chinese dream of great rejuvenation and the dream of Sonar Bangla.

The ambassador said Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the Global Security Initiative (GSI), upholding the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security; pursuing the long-term objective of building a security community; and advocating a new path to security featuring dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance and win-win over zero-sum. China does as it says, the ambassador said.

Unfortunately, the recent escalation of Israeli-Palestinian conflict has once again plunged the Middle East into war. In just one month, more than 10,000 civilians have died in the Gaza Strip.

On the question of Palestine, China will continue to stand on the side of peace, on the side of justice, on the side of international law, on the side of shared aspirations of the majority of countries in the world, and on the side of human conscience, said the ambassador.

Rohingya Crisis

Another example of China’s vigorous implementation of GSI is its mediation efforts with Bangladesh and Myanmar to resolve the issue of displaced people of Rakhine State, said the Chinese envoy.

He said the issue is by nature a bilateral one between Bangladesh and Myanmar. “China mediates as a common friend of both.”

The envoy said now the international aid for the displaced people is declining sharply, and the security situation in the camps is deteriorating.

The displaced people face a daunting humanitarian crisis. China plays its role as a responsible major country and provides assistance to the displaced people to help improve their living conditions, he said.

Tomorrow, China will donate a batch of emergency supplies of medical equipment to the Cox's Bazar 250 Bed District Sadar Hospital, and provide materials to the displaced people through Bangladesh Red Crescent Society.

In the meantime, all stakeholders have increasingly become aware that repatriation is the only long-term and most effective solution to the crisis, said the envoy.

“This year by far, under the mediation of China, Bangladesh and Myanmar have reached important consensus on early initiation of repatriation,” he said.

Officials from the two sides have kept frequent and direct talks in this regard. Bangladesh and Myanmar have also reinstated visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders.

“With joint efforts, we managed two rounds of ‘come & talk’ missions by Myanmar officials and one ‘go & see’ mission to Rakhine State by representatives of the displaced people and Bangladeshi officials,” said the envoy.

In this process, the displaced people gradually built up and enhanced confidence towards repatriation, he said.

China has also kept in close contact with UN agencies and ASEAN states, and called upon the international community to extend understanding and support to Bangladesh and Myanmar, so as to create proper conditions for early initiation of repatriation.