Ambassador of China to Bangladesh HE Li Jiming has been gracious enough to grant this extraordinarily open and forthright interview to Probir Kumar Sarker, exclusively for Dhaka Tribune, which we shall be running in five parts this week. This is the second part.
In Monday’s section, Ambassador Li discusses the alignment of China’s Belt and Road Initiative with Bangladesh’s Vision 2041 and the role China plays in Bangladesh’s development
How will China strengthen the alignment of its Belt and Road Initiative with Bangladesh’s Vision 2041 in near future? How many development projects in Bangladesh are funded by China? What are the key projects?
Bangladesh’s Vision 2041 perspective plan provides road-map for accelerating growth and lays down broad approaches for eradication of poverty, inequality, and human deprivation. By implementing the plan, Bangladesh is expected to make rapid change in agriculture, trade and industry, education, health care, transportation and communication, etc.
Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is the right venue for tangible and intangible outcomes pertinent to innovative, harmonized, green, open, high-quality and shared developments, which protects and maintains peace and promotes people's well-being in the post COVID-19 era.
BRI is proposed by China, but not owned exclusively by China. Ever since its genesis, BRI has been aiming at integrating with development strategies of all parties interested. Bangladesh is one of the first countries to respond to BRI and an important participant thereof. By far, Bangladesh has become one of the countries with most cooperation and fruitful results under the BRI framework.
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As strategic partners of cooperation, it is natural for Bangladesh and China to coordinate and integrate development strategies. We have established the Joint Economic and Trade Committee as an institutional arrangement for economic and trade cooperation.
According to data from China, the bilateral trade between China and Bangladesh increased significantly in 2021, exceeding 25 billion US dollars. The turnover of China's contracted projects to Bangladesh remained in the forefront of South Asian countries, and China's investment in Bangladesh increased by more than 290% year-on-year.
To further enhance integration of development strategies, the two sides could work together in the following aspects:
First, we need to further strengthen political mutual trust, consolidate the foundation for win-win results, enhance risk management and control, and secure the cooperation environment against the rapidly changing international situation.
Second, we need to further enhance inter-governmental cooperation and promote the implementation of major projects. After Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Bangladesh in 2016, a series of major projects have been progressing smoothly and are expected to be completed by the end of 2024.
Third, we need to fully utilize the high-quality projects and expand the volume of cooperation, such as the Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Center, the zero-tariff treatment for 98% of Bangladeshi products exported to China, and the large-scale international exhibitions like the China International Import Expo and the Canton Fair.
Fourth, we need to explore new opportunities and cultivate new growth points. Specifically, we can promote PPP cooperation, advance studies on bilateral FTA, jointly respond to pandemic and climate change, restore rivers, develop green and low-carbon energies, and work on digital economy.
China is the largest producer of electricity from renewable energy sources. How can Bangladesh benefit from Chinese technological advancement in the clean energy sector?
In recent years, China has achieved leapfrog development in renewable energy. The installed scale of hydropower, wind power, photovoltaic power and biomass power has been the world's largest for 17 years, 12 years, 7 years, and 4 years respectively.
China and Bangladesh have broad scope for cooperation and development in the field of renewable energy. Against the backdrop of the global response to climate change and accelerated energy transition, it is necessary for China and Bangladesh to strengthen cooperation on global energy governance, promote healthy development of global energy governance system, and make positive contributions to the response to climate change.