Chinese state councilor and foreign minister Wang Yi arrived in Bangladesh capital Dhaka on Saturday afternoon to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues with Bangladesh leadership with a hope to ‘elevate’ the relationship with Bangladesh to a ‘new level’.
Bangladesh agriculture minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque received the Chinese foreign minister upon his arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at about 5:15pm, a senior official said.
Foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen and Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming were present at the airport.
From the airport, minister Wang went to the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi-32 to pay tribute to Bangladesh’s founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
State minister for foreign affairs Md Shahriar Alam received the Chinese foreign minister at the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum.
Awami League general secretary and road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader is scheduled to host a dinner in honour of the Chinese foreign minister on Saturday evening.
‘We hope the visit will provide an opportunity to further implement the common understandings between the leaders of the two countries, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and elevate the relationship to a new level,’ said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.
She said that they ‘highly value’ their relationship with Bangladesh and the Chinese foreign minister is visiting Bangladesh at the invitation of foreign minister AK Abdul Momen.
Minister Wang is scheduled to meet prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday morning apart from holding a bilateral meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart Momen the same day.
The meeting between foreign minister Momen and his Chinese counterpart Wang is scheduled to begin at 7:30am (beginning with breakfast) at Sonargaon Hotel.
‘They will have an exchange of views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of shared interest,’ said Chinese spokesperson Chunying.
Bangladesh will likely deepen both its economic links with China and its security links with India in the long term in order to avoid becoming a full client state of either, according to geopolitical risk analysis site - Foreign Brief.
Potential topics include the expansion of Chinese foreign direct investment and the handover of the 8th Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge to the Bangladeshi government, it said.
Almost a third of Bangladesh’s imports come from China, and China has promised to invest $40 billion into joint ventures and infrastructure projects through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it added.
‘This is going to be different from other bilateral visits. I can’t tell you in detail at this moment as many things are still under last minute discussion,’ another official familiar with the development told UNB, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Foreign minister Momen is expected to return home Saturday night from Cambodia after attending the ASEAN Regional Forum meeting.
Talking to reporters at the ministry of foreign affairs on Thursday, Shahriar Alam said Bangladesh and China are likely to sign multiple MoUs and agreements during Wang’s visit.
He said the list is not finalised yet and it can be five-seven – new and renewal including cooperation on the disaster management and cultural exchange fronts.
