Chinese president hails strong bilateral ties after Bangladesh leader wins fresh term in election

A man reads a newspaper the morning after the Awami League won the general election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Jan 8, 2024. (PHOTO / REUTERS)

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Jan 11 congratulated Bangladesh Awami League (AL) party leader Sheikh Hasina on her reelection as prime minister.

In a message, Xi noted that China and Bangladesh are neighbors with traditional friendship.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 49 years ago, the two countries have respected each other, treated each other as equals, and shared mutual benefits, he said.

The AL, which rose to power in a landslide win in 2009, has secured a fourth straight five-year term following the weekend election in Bangladesh.

Xi recalled that he and Hasina met in Johannesburg, South Africa, in August last year, and reached an important consensus on developing China-Bangladesh relations.

It is hoped that China and Bangladesh will work together to further implement the important consensus reached between the two sides, deepen political mutual trust, carry forward traditional friendship, strengthen the synergy of development strategies, enhance Belt and Road cooperation with high quality, and continuously push China-Bangladesh strategic cooperative partnership to new levels, Xi said.

Meanwhile, Chinese Premier Li Qiang also sent a congratulatory message to Sheikh Hasina on Jan 11. 

The greetings from Chinese leaders came after Bangladeshi President Mohammed Shahabuddin on Jan 10 appointed Hasina as the prime minister of the South Asian nation.

Hasina’s party clinched a landslide victory in the Jan 7 general election, paving way for her to secure a fourth consecutive term as the head of the government.

Hasina, along with other lawmakers from her party, took oath as members of parliament on Jan 10.

According to a gazette notification published by the Election Commission on Jan 9, the AL party led by Hasina won 222 out of 298 seats of the parliament. The AL-led alliance bagged a landslide win with 225 seats. 

India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma conveyed congratulations to Hasina on her election victory during a phone call, on behalf of the Indian government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Asian News International reported.

Voting for Bangladesh’s 12th National Assembly elections was completed peacefully on Jan 7 but for a few isolated incidents of violence. 

The Bangladesh Election Commission said over 119.6 million registered voters were eligible to cast their votes at more than 42,000 polling stations across the country.

About 2,000 candidates contested in 299 of the 300 parliamentary constituencies. The election for the remaining constituency was postponed due to the death of a candidate.

Despite a boycott call by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, or BNP, the AL’s main political opponent, voter turnout was 40 percent, Bangladesh Election Commissioner Anisur Rahman said.

Abdur Rahim, who runs an export business in the capital Dhaka, told China Daily that Hasina’s new term in office will keep Bangladesh’s growth momentum going. “I hope there will be a renewed vigor in the economy of Bangladesh,” he said.

He said that “relations between China and Bangladesh have flourished over the years under Hasina”.

“Many ambitious infrastructure projects, including the Padma Rail Link, Dhaka Metro, and Karnaphuli Underwater Tunnel, have been supported by the governments of Bangladesh and China,” Marco Foerster, FDI adviser at consultancy firm Dezan Shira & Associates, noted.

Some analysts say Bangladesh has improved in education, health, climate disaster management, and women’s participation in the workforce. 

Arunava Das is a freelance journalist for China Daily.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at vivienxu@chinadailyapac.com