On US-led Quad issue, Beijing says China and Bangladesh have mutual respect

Beijing has continued its criticism of the US-led Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, better known as Quad, saying that China and Bangladesh have “mutual respect” to each other.

In a daily briefing on Wednesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said her country opposes efforts to “sow discord between regional countries and China”.

The South China Morning Post correspondent raised the issue, noting that Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen “regretted” Chinese Ambassador Li Jiming’s remarks that China-Bangladesh relations will suffer "substantial damage" if it joins Quad.

“I can tell you clearly that China and Bangladesh are very friendly close neighbours,” Chunying said, adding that the two countries have grown their ties on the basis of the “principles of peaceful coexistence”.

“We always treat each other with mutual respect and firmly support one another on issues bearing on respective core interests and major concerns.”

Jiming at an event in Dhaka on Monday described  Quad as “anti-China” and warned Bangladesh against any form of participation in the group.

Momen responded to Jiming’s remarks on Tuesday, saying that Bangladesh will take a decision based on "neutral and balanced" foreign policy.

Ned Price, a spokesman for the US State Department, was asked by a journalist about the matter during a daily press conference in Washington DC on Tuesday.

“Well, we have taken note of that statement from the PRC ambassador to Bangladesh. What we would say is that we respect Bangladesh’s sovereignty, and we respect Bangladesh’s right to make foreign policy decisions for itself,” Price said.

First established in 2007, Quad is an informal strategic dialogue established between the US, Japan, Australia and India. The initiative is widely regarded as a response to the growing economic and military power of China.

“We all know what kind of mechanism the Quad is. China opposes certain countries' efforts to form an exclusive clique, portray China as a challenge, and sow discord between regional countries and China,” said Chunying.