China has urged Bangladesh to uphold independence and reject Cold War mentality and bloc politics to ensure peace and development.
Liu Jinsong, director general of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, made the request in a meeting with Bangladesh Ambassador to China Mahbub Uz Zaman on Wednesday, said a press release issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The move comes just a year after Beijing publicly asked Dhaka not to join the Quad alliance comprising India, the US, Japan, and Australia.
“China believes that countries in the region, including Bangladesh, will bear in mind the fundamental interests of their own countries and the region, uphold independence, reject the Cold War mentality and bloc politics,” Liu told Zaman.
Countries in the region should safeguard true multilateralism and defend the hard-won environment for peace and development in the region, Liu added.
According to China, the logic behind the US Indo-Pacific strategy, AUKUS, the Quad grouping, and the latest Indo-Pacific Economic Framework is US "centrism" and "exceptionalism". As a result, it would undermine the regional cooperation framework and create bloc confrontation.
“Unipolar hegemony wins no support, block confrontation has no future, and building small yards with high walls and decoupling from or cutting off supply chains will bring no good to anyone,” Liu further said.
He also appreciated the solidarity between China and Bangladesh in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic and thanked the Bangladesh government and people’s understanding and support for China’s pandemic prevention policy.
Ambassador Zaman said Dhaka welcomed more Chinese enterprises to invest and operate in Bangladesh and promote the construction of major projects to boost the country’s economic construction and development.
He said Bangladesh considered economic development its top priority in national construction and was ready to upgrade economic and trade cooperation with China.
In response, Liu said China is ready to work with Bangladesh to uphold the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits to advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, promote the implementation of the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, and expand cooperation in fields such as post-Covid-19 economic recovery, poverty alleviation, climate change, digital economy and green development, so as to deliver more benefits to the two countries and peoples.