Yearender: China-Bangladesh friendship, cooperation continue to expand in 2017

DHAKA, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- The year 2017, designated as the Year of Friendship and Exchanges between China and Bangladesh, saw the friendly ties between the two nations further cemented, as both sides pushed forward cooperation based on mutual benefit.

Experts here said Bangladesh and China have, in the year past, enjoyed very strong relations. They said both countries share many similarities and as such should maintain the momentum of cooperation.

China-made, high-quality and affordable products, ranging from daily necessities to large machinery, can be found all over Bangladesh.

China's leading technology, from communications and automobiles, continue to be in great demand in Bangladesh, with China's increasing tech-footprint here, which has helped elevate Bangladesh's economy.

Relations between the two peoples date back thousands of years, Bangladeshi Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu told Xinhua recently, adding that the relationship has been gradually cemented.

"So, Bangladesh and China now enjoy a very strong people-to-people, state-to-state and government-to-government, three-dimensional relationship," Inu said.

Dhaka and Beijing, through a variety of programs and events throughout 2017, made their best efforts to promote the relationship that is now a visible rainbow of friendship for all to see.

Seven friendship bridges have already been completed across Bangladesh thanks to Chinese grants, and the eighth one is under construction, with Beijing providing funding for construction of the ninth one.

Among other major China-funded infrastructure projects, Chinese enterprises have also signed deals with Bangladesh to build a two-lane tunnel underneath the Karnaphuli River, the first of its kind in Bangladesh and to construct a 220-km pipeline to carry oil from tankers in the Bay of Bengal to storage plants on the mainland.

Other deals also involve the detailed engineering design for a four-lane expansion of a national highway.

Bangladeshi Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said China has been contributing greatly to the infrastructure development of Bangladesh. Describing China as a "trusted friend" and an "important stakeholder in the global economy," Quader said he hoped for more Chinese assistance in implementing major projects across the country.

The construction of friendship bridges assisted by China have greatly improved the infrastructure in Bangladesh and enhanced the country's economic development, Quader added.

Building friendship bridges has surely underscored the ongoing friendship between Bangladesh and China, and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on several occasions has thanked China for its contributions to Bangladesh's economic development.

Hasina expects that Bangladesh will be able to reach its goal of becoming a middle-income country by 2021 and a developed one by 2041, with the support from China and other friendly countries.

Apart from the friendship bridges, China is also building the Padma Bridge, termed a "dream bridge" for Bangladeshis.

The 6.15-km-long complex, undertaken by a Chinese company, is the largest and most challenging infrastructure project in the country's history. It will make it more convenient for neighboring countries to use Bangladesh's seaports, and promote trade with neighboring countries.

The multipurpose road-rail bridge, which local residents have dubbed "a dream come true," will span the Padma River to link Bangladesh's northeast and southwest.

Through such engagements, experts have said Bangladesh and China have taken their relationship beyond just conference rooms and contracts, with the cooperation truly benefitting people all across Bangladesh in many spheres of life.

Bangladeshi Information and Communication Technology (ICT) State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak said recently Bangladesh wants China to be its major partner in making the country's digital dreams come true.

"For a long, long time we have been time-tested friends and in the field of ICT we are grateful to China and the Chinese government for helping us by providing all kinds of technical and financial support for building our infrastructure," he said.

The Bangladeshi government, in collaboration with Chinese companies, implemented the country's largest-ever ICT project which brought nearly 20,000 government offices across the country under nationwide connectivity.

"We have been able to setup our first TR4 data Center under a line of credit kindly extended from China," said Palak.

Meanwhile, experts have also lauded China's efforts to help resolve the Rohingya issue, as well as China's offer of relief materials for the Rohingya people.

China proposed a three-phase solution to help settle the issue in Myanmar's Rakhine state. China's proposal has been backed by both Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a deal in November on the repatriation of the Rohingya people. According to the agreement, both governments would arrange for the voluntary return in "safety, security and dignity with options for recommencing livelihood" after they had been verified to be Myanmar residents.

ANM Muniruzzaman, president of the Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies, said a rising China that follows the policy of a peaceful rise does not only lay the ground for internal development but is also a force for regional and international peace and stability.

Muniruzzaman, also an ex-major general of the Bangladesh Army, said China's Belt and Road Initiative is a massive game changer.

"It will not only stimulate trade and commerce but will have multi-directional benefits in many sectors. China's idea is also to revive the ancient silk route along which different continents once traded with China. It will bring together many countries in Asia, Africa and Europe under this visionary initiative."

China's role in the region has been constructive and in the fundamental interests of both peoples in developing mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries, and others, Eminent Dhaka University professor Abul Kashem Fazlul Haque said recently during a discussion organized by the Bangladesh-China Friendship Center.

"We were deeply pleased to see the development that has taken place in China," said retired Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Faruk Khan, who recently visited China on a nine-day tour at the invitation of the Chinese government.

"I do believe that strengthening all-round bilateral friendly relations of cooperation with China will immensely benefit Bangladesh," said Khan, who is also a former government minister. Enditem