Prime Minister’s Finance and Planning Adviser Dr Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir on Sunday said partnerships are most meaningful when they reinforce national priorities, placing Bangladesh's development and people's welfare at the centre of every collaboration.

Referring to the principle of “Bangladesh First”, he emphasised that Bangladesh must pursue its own self-reliant development journey while engaging with China on the basis of mutual respect, national interest, and economic sovereignty.

He was speaking as the chief guest at a seminar organised by the South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) at North South University (NSU).

The seminar, titled “Bangladesh-China Relations: Enhanced Trust and New Direction”, brought together policymakers, diplomats, scholars, China experts, media representatives, faculty members, and students to discuss how Bangladesh could transform the renewed momentum from Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s recent Beijing visit into concrete gains in diplomacy, trade, connectivity, education, technology, and regional cooperation.

Dr Titumir welcomed Chinese partnerships in multimodal transportation, the Chinese Economic Zone in Chattogram, Mongla Port expansion, and the proposed Kunming-Chattogram connection, while calling for deeper society-to-society cultural exchanges.

Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam reflected on the positive trajectory of Bangladesh-China relations and highlighted recent milestones, including agreements, protocols, media cooperation, and collaboration in agriculture, water security, supply chains, technology, and multilateral forums.

He stressed that the real task ahead was to convert commitments and investments into high-impact projects backed by strong institutional accountability and aligned with Bangladesh’s national interest.

The seminar also discussed the proposed Bangladesh-China-Myanmar connectivity framework, BCM+I, the Teesta and northern river management issues, the Rohingya crisis, Myanmar’s instability, Bay of Bengal geopolitics, Indo-Pacific competition, and Bangladesh’s need to avoid overdependence on any single partner.

Speakers emphasised that Bangladesh should remain open to cooperation with all countries on mutually beneficial terms while carefully navigating the fast-changing regional and global environment.

Representing the Embassy of China in Bangladesh, Cultural Counsellor Li Shaopeng described the Prime Minister’s visit to China as the beginning of a new chapter in bilateral relations.

“People matter more than infrastructure. Long-term people-to-people bonds matter more than physical connectivity,” he said, emphasising political mutual trust, international coordination, and shared development as the central foundations of Bangladesh-China cooperation.

Highlighting the importance of people-oriented cooperation, he observed that human connections, vocational education, Chinese language learning, and cultural exchanges carry value beyond infrastructure connectivity.

Former Ambassador Mohammad Sufiur Rahman, Senior Research Fellow at SIPG, NSU, presented the keynote paper.

He argued that Bangladesh must move beyond a narrow project-based understanding of China relations and focus on long-term strategic planning.

Sufiur Rahman stressed that sustainable cooperation should not depend only on short-term monetary interests but should place geoeconomics, health, education, research, technology, connectivity, and mutual security at the centre of future engagement.

Dr Liu Zongyi, Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Center for South Asia Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS), China, joined the seminar as the lead discussant.

Speakers observed that Bangladesh-China relations have moved beyond conventional development cooperation and entered a broader strategic phase.

They emphasised that the next challenge for Bangladesh would be to translate diplomatic understandings into visible outcomes while protecting national interest, economic sovereignty, and strategic autonomy.

Benjir Ahmed, Member of the Board of Trustees of North South University, also addressed the seminar. Capturing the spirit of the discussion, he said, “Friendship builds trust, trust creates opportunity, and opportunity shapes the future.”

He emphasised that Bangladesh-China relations should move beyond business and infrastructure to include higher education, research, agriculture, technology, student exchanges, and human connections.

Prof Abdul Hannan Chowdhury, Vice-Chancellor of North South University, delivered the closing remarks and vote of thanks.

He highlighted the growing diplomatic trajectory between China and South Asia and emphasised the need to expand Bangladesh’s export basket to China.

Prof Sk. Tawfique M. Haque, Director of SIPG, NSU, moderated the seminar and delivered the opening remarks.

Dr S. M. Rubyat, Coordinator of CSCSS and Assistant Professor at NSU also spoke at the seminar that reaffirmed SIPG and NSU’s commitment to advancing evidence-based policy dialogue on Bangladesh’s foreign relations, regional cooperation, and strategic engagement in a changing global order.