China wants Bangladesh ties on a new high

China wants to take its relations with Bangladesh to “a new height”.

The visiting vice-chairman of the Chinese Central Military Commission General Xu Qiliang conveyed this message when he called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday.

The Prime Minister’s Special Assistant Mahbubul Hoque Shakil told journalists after the meeting that Hasina also told him that she wanted “deep relations” with China.

Shakil said the prime minister particularly wanted to strengthen military ties between the two countries.

The Chinese military delegation led by Qiliang came to Dhaka on May 11 and signed four agreements with Bangladesh armed forces to provide military support including training on Monday.

Shakil said China would help Bangladesh to modernise and strengthen its armed forces as desired by Hasina.

He said the purpose of the 15-member delegation’s visit was to deepen the bilateral relations of “trust and cooperation”.

The prime minister also sought Chinese cooperation for building a developed Bangladesh by 2041 that her Awami League party envisages.

Quoting the vice-chairman, Shakil said his main purpose was to strengthen military ties that he said would eventually impact bilateral relations.

China established diplomatic and military relations with Bangladesh 40 years ago.

People-to-people exchanges had crossed 70,000 last year and the two-way trade soared to over $ 10 billion.

With new reform measures getting under way, China is looking at investing an additional $ 500 billion in other countries, importing goods over $ 10 trillion, and sending 400 million tourists abroad over the next five years.

The Chinese ambassador in Dhaka had earlier said as a neighbor “Bangladesh should have a good share of it”.

Shakil said the vice-chairman also appreciated Bangladesh government’s policy towards China.

He handed his prime minister’s greetings to Hasina and congratulated her on forming a government for the second successive term.

Hasina also spoke about the proposed BCIM cooperation in which an economic corridor was expected to be built from Kunming to Dhaka via Kolkata and Myanmar.

She said it would increase the two-way trade further and regional stability could be ensured through cooperation among neighbouring countries.

Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder, Principal Staff Officer of armed forces Lieutenant General Abu Belal Mohammad Shafiul Haque and Chinese ambassador in Dhaka Li Jun were present during the meeting.