Chinese Ambassador Yao Wen has said that despite the “steady progress” of Dhaka-Beijing relations, some “disturbing noises” emerge once in a while.
But there is no use of that as the relationship is “widely endorsed by all walks of life across the country," he said while speaking at the reunion of Bangladeshi participants attending 2023 Chinese government training programs at the embassy on Tuesday night.
The ambassador did not mention specifically what the “disturbing noises" were, but he mentioned the China trap issue, which is widely reported by Western media.
“The so-called China trap is sheer fabrication,” he said, adding that the projects carried out by Beijing under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) would bring about “China benefit."
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the BRI.
China also comes into the political limelight in Bangladesh for criticizing Western interference in the upcoming general elections.
The ambassador said China and Bangladesh are “not only traditionally friendly neighbours but also strategic partners."
In recent years, the exchanges between the two countries have been increasingly close, and economic and trade cooperation has yielded fruitful results, setting an example of win-win cooperation among developing countries, he said.
"China has maintained Bangladesh's largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years."
China is also a major source of foreign investment for Bangladesh, with an investment stock of $3.17 billion and more diversified investment sectors being explored.
Currently, there are around 700 Chinese companies registered in Bangladesh; they have constructed 7 railways, 12 roads, 21 bridges, and 31 power plants, providing 550,000 job opportunities, he said.
"2023 is a fruitful year for the Chinese government's training programs in Bangladesh. With the resumption of physical training programs, we have witnessed a remarkable increase in the number of participants in China," he said, adding that 370 Bangladeshi officials have participated in this year's training programs.
With that, he said, the Chinese government's training programs in Bangladesh have sent approximately 5,500 Bangladeshi officials, technical experts, young scholars, and media representatives to receive training in China, and all the seminars have received unanimous acclaim.
"2023 is a year for further deepening the strategic partnership between China and Bangladesh."
Echoed by no one but to no avail
The ambassador said China is the most reliable development partner and a true friend of Bangladesh. It is a conclusion widely endorsed by all walks of life across the country.
"However, alongside the steady progress of China-Bangladesh relations, some disturbing noises emerge once in a while."
"China-Bangladesh cooperation finds its roots deep in the long-established friendship between the two peoples. It would have been impossible without the political guidance of our respective leaderships.
“The precious achievement is jointly made by contributors from various sectors and positions like you and thus should be cherished by heart and maintained with care.
“The attempts to interfere with China-Bangladesh cooperation will be echoed by no one but to no avail,” he said, adding that through actions they would showcase to the world “what true friends and best partners really mean."
In the coming year, China will provide more bilateral training programs, benefiting an even greater number of Bangladeshi participants.
“Right now, there have been 50 flights flying between China and Bangladesh every week, and nearly 10 thousand people commute to and from our two countries on a weekly basis.”
“More direct flights from Dhaka to Beijing will be opened very soon, so as to provide more diverse flight options and make people-to-people exchanges even more convenient,” he said.
The ambassador said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has commended BRI for opening a new door of development for Bangladesh.
“I firmly believe that this door not only carries mega projects to drive economic development but also nurtures people-to-people exchanges and mutual learning between the two countries,” he said.
“China is committed to ensuring those training programs are well-implemented and built into an important platform for bilateral exchanges, thereby bringing the China-Bangladesh strategic partnership of cooperation to a new level.”
