Bangladesh, China working on currency swap

Chinese Ambassador in Dhaka Li Jiming on Friday said that Bangladesh and China were collaborating to have a currency swap arrangement to facilitate bilateral trade.

The envoy also said he already has several meetings with the finance minister and the central bank governor in this regard, and they in principle agreed to have currency swap.

But there are some technical problems in having a currency swap arrangement, as the Bangladesh Bank is not connected to alternative currency exchange systems except Swift.

He informed that both the countries are working to expedite the process.

The envoy was replying to questions during a program organized by the China Media Group in the city.

Xiao Yu, a delegate of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) 20th National Congress and Director General of the China Media Group - Asia and African languages department, also spoke at the program virtually from Beijing.

Yu said the CPC's 20th National Congress was held recently, where the overall goals of China's further development were determined.

"China's new journey means its new development. China's new development brings a new opportunity for the world too," he added.

Yu Li Wen, cultural counsellor of the Chinese Embassy, Ke Chang Liang, president of the Chinese Enterprises Association in Bangladesh, and Vai Chunlei, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Association for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China, also attended the programme, among others.

The speakers of the program said the information and culture exchange process between China and Bangladesh is getting stronger through the information and writing of the China Media Group's Bengali Department.

The exchange is contributing to cementing the relations between the people of the two countries, they added.