President Abdul Hamid has sought duty-free and quota-free entry of all Bangladeshi products into the Chinese market to address the current trade imbalance. ‘We would request you to allow all Bangladeshi products duty-free and quota-free entry into the Chinese market to address the current trade imbalance,’ president Hamid said during his meeting with visiting Chinese president Xi Jinping at Bangabhaban in the capital Friday evening. During the half-an-hour meeting from 6.45 pm, Xi Jinping said China would continue its cooperation as a development partner for the socioeconomic development of Bangladesh. ‘China would consider with due importance increasing Bangladesh export to China,’ said the Chinese president. Abdul Hamid said China is Bangladesh’s largest trading partner and bilateral trade between the two countries has been growing steadily. “I believe your visit is going to usher in a new era in our relations by elevating our ‘closer comprehensive partnership of cooperation’ to a new level of ‘strategic partnership of cooperation’,” he added. President Hamid said Bangladesh and China enjoy excellent bilateral relations and traditional, time-tested friendship and cooperation. “As you have your ‘Chinese dream’, we also have ‘vision 2021’ to become a middle-income country by 2021 and ‘vision 2041’ to become a developed country by 2041. We consider China as a trusted partner in this pursuit,’ he added. Highlighting the friendly relationship with China, Abdul Hamid said it is based on the principles of mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and cooperation for mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence. “We have always supported China’s core issues of national interest, particularly its ‘one China policy’,” the president said. He said Bangladesh highly values the Chinese cooperation in the areas of infrastructure development, trade, investment, agriculture, energy and power, ICT and telecommunications which has made positive impacts on our socioeconomic progress. During the meeting, the Chinese president mentioned his meeting with prime minister Sheikh Hasina and said they have decided to take a master plan for boosting the bilateral relations of the two countries. He said there are scopes to expand the bilateral ties in different areas, including trade and agriculture. Mentioning his visit to Dhaka six years ago, Xi Jinping said tremendous change has taken place in the socioeconomic area of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is an important country in South Asia and the relations of the two countries would strengthen further, he added. Foreign minister AH Mahmood Ali, state minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam, foreign secretary, president’s military secretary and secretary attended the meeting. Later, Xi Jinping joined a banquet hosted by president Abdul Hamid. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former president Hussain Muhammad Ershad, speaker Shirin Sharmin Choudhury, chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, cabinet members and envoys of different countries attended the banquet.
