China wants to align its strategies with Bangladesh and jointly promote the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with Dhaka, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Sunday.
Xi said China wishes to take the China-Bangladesh strategic partnership to new heights.
The Chinese president “is willing to work with his Bangladeshi counterpart Abdul Hamid to better align the strategies of the two countries and jointly promote the construction of the Belt and Road, in order to carry out the China-Bangladesh strategic partnership of cooperation. to new heights, ”The official Xinhua news agency quoted the Chinese president on Sunday.
Xi made the remarks in an exchange of congratulatory messages with Hamid to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
China has become Bangladesh’s largest development partner in recent years and has injected funds for various infrastructure projects, a growth in ties that would be closely monitored by India.
Dhaka-based The Financial Express reported in June that Bangladesh had requested Chinese funding for nine new projects worth $ 6.4 billion, including a new port and bridge.
During Xi’s visit to Dhaka in 2016, the two countries signed memoranda of understanding to implement various infrastructure projects worth more than $ 25 billion, the newspaper reported.
According to The Diplomat, Chinese investment plans announced in October 2016 included 27 memorandums of understanding, valued at $ 24 billion, while Chinese and Bangladeshi companies participated separately in 13 joint ventures valued at $ 13.6 billion.
In his message, Xi said that the friendship between China and Bangladesh has a long history and remains new over time.
“Since the establishment of diplomatic relations 45 years ago, the two countries have always respected and treated each other as equals, enhanced mutual political trust and deepened mutually beneficial cooperation that brings tangible benefits to the two peoples,” Xi noted.
The Chinese leader added that China and Bangladesh have stood together during the Covid-19 pandemic “through thick and thin, helping each other and fighting the pandemic side by side, writing a new chapter of bilateral friendship.”
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang exchanged separate congratulatory messages with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
China, Li said, is willing to deepen practical cooperation with Bangladesh in various fields and promote the stable and sustainable development of the China-Bangladesh strategic cooperation partnership to better benefit the two countries and their people.
President Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had earlier sent their greetings to Chinese President Xi Jinping on the anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
According to Dhaka media reports, in his message to Chinese leaders, Hasina valued China as one of Bangladesh’s most valuable partners for its socio-economic development and continued Chinese aid and support to Bangladesh during the Covid-19 pandemic. in progress.
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