Dhaka plans to take partnership to 'another level' via wider cooperation

Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman said Dhaka expects to take its comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with China to a new level, as his first visit to China since Bangladesh's new government took office signaled continuity and fresh momentum in bilateral ties.

Rahman made the remarks in an interview with China Daily during his three-day visit to China last week, his first since Bangladesh's new government was formed in February.

Describing Bangladesh-China ties as "a very robust relationship" that has grown steadily closer over the decades since the foundation of the partnership laid by late president Ziaur Rahman, he said Dhaka looks forward to taking the partnership to "another level" through wider cooperation in political, diplomatic, economic, trade, environmental, infrastructure, industrial and people-to-people fields.

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That confidence, he said, is underpinned by a strong foundation of political trust. On the Taiwan question, Rahman reaffirmed Bangladesh's position, saying its understanding of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 is "very clear": the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory.

"We oppose any kind of move to undermine China's territorial integrity and sovereignty, and we oppose any attempt at so-called 'Taiwan independence'," he added.

With that political foundation in place, Rahman said Bangladesh is also looking closely at how its development priorities can be better aligned with China's next stage of modernization. China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), which maps out the country's economic and social development priorities, is relevant not only to China but also to other developing countries, he said.

Bangladesh is studying the plan to identify possible areas of convergence, Rahman said, noting that its timing, which overlaps with the term of Bangladesh's government, could help create new opportunities for bilateral cooperation.

One important platform for such cooperation is the Belt and Road Initiative. As the first South Asian country to sign an intergovernmental Belt and Road cooperation document with China, Bangladesh sees the initiative as an important framework for development cooperation, Rahman said.

Rejecting claims by some in the West that the initiative creates a "debt trap", Rahman said: "Not at all." The key, he added, is how countries use such cooperation frameworks to deliver tangible benefits to their people, including through high-quality projects that improve livelihoods.

He said such people-centered cooperation is also expanding beyond infrastructure and trade. Healthcare has become a growing area, Rahman noted, citing the facilitation provided by the Chinese side for Bangladeshi citizens who traveled to Kunming, Yunnan province, for medical treatment last year.

As a country with a large share of its population under 30, Bangladesh sees strong goodwill toward China among both young people and the wider public, he said. "With the support of our people and the political strength of the government, I am sure both sides will be able to take the relationship to a very new level in the coming years," he said.

Beyond bilateral cooperation, Rahman said Bangladesh also values China's vision for global development and governance. He expressed appreciation for the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity and major global initiatives proposed by President Xi Jinping.

"We only have one planet, and our future lies on this planet," he said, adding that preserving the planet is extremely important and is in line with President Xi's emphasis on protecting ecology.

China's development path also offers lessons for other countries, Rahman said, describing its rapid economic growth as "unprecedented in economic history" and noting its success in lifting nearly 100 million rural people out of absolute poverty and improving living standards.

In a separate interview with China Daily, Adviser to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh on Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir said Bangladesh highly appreciates the Global Development Initiative proposed by President Xi, particularly its focus on green development, climate resilience and poverty reduction.

Kobir said Bangladesh sees these areas as closely aligned with its own development priorities, including building a green economy, strengthening climate resilience and expanding renewable energy. China's poverty reduction record also provides a "tremendous case study" for countries in the region, he said, adding that Bangladesh could study relevant practices and adapt them where feasible.

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On the Global Governance Initiative, Kobir said Bangladesh welcomes its emphasis on multilateralism, sovereign integrity and consensus-based decision-making, which he described as important at a time of growing volatility, shifting alignments and conflicts that cannot always be eased through bilateral diplomacy alone.

"We don't want to see the death of multilateralism," he said.

Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, said China's development path serves as "a beacon" for Bangladesh as it pursues industrialization and seeks to build a stronger manufacturing base.

Contact the writers at zhaojia@chinadaily.com.cn