The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry is leading a delegation of business leaders to China this week, ahead of the prime ministers forthcoming visit.
China has been a major provider of assistance for infrastructure projects in Bangladesh, such as the Padma bridge, and is responsible for $1.42bn of accumulated direct investment in Bangladesh, creating over 76,000 jobs.
As this is still relatively small compared to the fast-growing scale of trade between Bangladesh and China, there is a lot of potential for this to grow much higher.
The FBCCI’s suggestion that Bangladesh should offer either an industrial park or a special economic zone specifically for Chinese investors has considerable merit. It will provide a way to highlight the country’s geographical and cost benefits at a time when more and more Chinese businesses are looking to invest in Bangladesh.
Both Bangladesh and China have given strong support to progressing the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor, which should help to underpin our growing trade ties with the world’s second-largest economy.
China’s strong track record in developing infrastructure in particular offers many benefits for Bangladesh if we can continue to develop our mutual ties. Its companies also have world-beating experience in manufacturing and are increasingly looking to move more production to lower cost economies.
As the standard of living rises in China, it is looking to boost consumption and imports generally. We hope the forthcoming talks and trade visits can help cement deals to improve our mutual trade and investment links.
