The favourable attitude people had towards China has been affected by Beijing’s “backing” Myanmar while it conducted atrocities against the Rohingyas, speakers said at a symposium on Saturday.
Professor Afsan Chowdhury – veteran journalist accused China of backing Myanmar in cleansing of Rohingyas from Rakhine by the Myanmar security forces.
Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Zhang Zuo, who attended the symposium on “Bangladesh-China Relations: Prognosis for the Future” as chief guest, did not make comment on this at the program.
However, when asked to comment on the accusation on his way out, he said: “China always plays a constructive role”.
When asked about the upcoming election scheduled for December 30, the Chinese envoy, through an interpreter, expressed hope that the poll will go “well and smooth” and that Bangladesh and the political parties can do that.
He avoided a direct answer when asked if China will send election observers to monitor the polls.
The Cosmos Foundation organized the event at a city hotel. Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, principal Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, and former Adviser on Foreign Affairs to the Caretaker Government, chaired the event while Cosmos Foundation Chairman Enayetullah Khan delivered the welcome address.
Professor Imtiaz Ahmed of the International Relations Department at the Dhaka University, Executive Director of the Institute of South Asian Studies under Sichuan University, BRAC University Professor Afsan Chowdhury and Chief Journalist of India Bureau of People’s Daily Yuan Jirong took part as panel discussants at the symposium attended by diplomats, academia, civil and military officials and journalists.
Emphasizing on the importance of the Dhaka-Beijing relationship, speakers said that there is a consensus among the people of Bangladesh in regards to good relations with China and people are not happy with the Chinese support for Myanmar on the Rohingya crisis.
The Chinese leadership will have re-think their approach on the Rohingya issue, they said.
The speakers also said that if the Rohingya crisis is not solved, initiatives like BCIM (Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar) Economic Corridor and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will be negatively affected.
Some of the speakers questioned the government’s negotiating skills in every aspect, especially on Rohingya issue, and the “independence” of the country’s foreign policy while few serving and former senior diplomats defended the government’s handling of the Rohingya crisis along with other issues and the existing foreign policy.
The speakers pointed out that although there are many good sides of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Bangladesh will also have to be careful about the “other side of the coin”.
“All-out efforts should be made so that the outcome is always a win-win for both the countries,” they added.
Chinese Ambassador Zuo recalled President Xi Jinping’s visit to Bangladesh in 2016 and said that the strategic partnership forged during the visit opened a new chapter of the Dhaka-Beijing relationship.
He emphasized on deepening strategic engagements based on equality and mutual trust, saying that Bangladesh and China will have to be good partners to make the most of the relationship.
