A visiting Chinese delegation expressed their willingness on Tuesday to invest more in Bangladesh and help the country by relocating their ‘sunset industries’, as China is switching over to high-tech industries. “The Chinese investment as well as relocation of its industries to Bangladesh will help reduce the rising trade gap between the two countries,” said members of the delegation at a seminar at Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS).China to raise investment, relocate industries to BD. BIISS organised the seminar to exchange views with the Chinese delegation, most of whom were former Chinese ambassadors to Dhaka. Earlier, a high-level Bangladesh delegation, led by former ambassador Farooq Sobhan, visited Beijing last year to mark 40 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries. A good number of diplomats, academicians, experts, media personnel and government officials attended the programme. Most of the speakers, mostly ambassadors from China and Bangladesh, dwelt on their past experiences. They recalled memories of their tenure in Dhaka and Beijing, and took into accounts their activities to strengthen the bilateral relations.
According to them, both Bangladesh and China enjoy good relations, and are strongly supportive to each other at different regional and global forums. Terming Bangladesh a good friend of China, they said there are scopes of further cooperation in trade, economy, communication and education. To reduce the substantial trade-gap between the two countries, the Chinese delegation stressed the need for enhancing trade and business cooperation, and showed interest to invest more in Bangladesh, especially in manufacturing, infrastructure and industrial parks. “China is ready to encourage its businesses to invest in Bangladesh,” said team leader and ambassador Wang Chungui while addressing the seminar. He expressed his willingness to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the fields of trade and business, manufacturing, agriculture, science and technology. “China can help relocate its ‘sunset industries’ to Bangladesh, especially those of textile, light-engineering and other sectors. The country is switching over to high-tech industries because of high labour costs,” said another ambassador Zheng Qingdian. It would help Bangladesh to reduce its huge trade gap with China, he added. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam, who attended the programme as the chief guest, identified China as a role model for Bangladesh. He said the country would learn a lot from the Chinese experiences as being the largest and fastest growing economy. The state minister said China-Bangladesh bilateral relations have entered into a new dimension after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to China in June and that of President Abdul Hamid in December last year. He also hoped a closer and comprehensive partnership of cooperation between the two countries. “We strongly believe that Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM-EC), the One Belt-One Road initiative and other initiatives of regional connectivity will positively change the socio-economic scenario of the region.” “We look forward to working closely with China and other friendly partners in development for creating a sustainable financial future for all of us in the region and beyond,” the minister added. At present the two-way trade between the two countries accounts for US$ 9.002 billion, and is heavily tilted towards China. Officially, China is the largest import destination for Bangladesh, as the country imports machinery, garment fabrics, cotton, chemicals and electrical equipment etc from China. In last fiscal (2014-15) Bangladesh imported goods worth $ 8.231 billion from China, and exported goods worth $ 791 million. Presided over by BIISS Board of Governors’ Chairman Munshi Faiz Ahmad, the conference was addressed, among others, by BIISS Director General A K M Abdur Rahman, Chinese Ambassador in Dhaka Ma Mingqiang, former ambassadors Chai Xi, Zhang Xianyi, Ashfaqur Rahman, A Azizul Haque and Humayun A Kamal. Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque attended the concluding session as the chief guest.
