Yunus in China to boost ties between Bangladesh and Beijing
The Bangladeshi leader starts a four-day visit that is viewed with suspicion in New Delhi at a time when the regional balance of power in South Asia is still shaky after Sheikh Hasina’s ouster. Reducing interest on its loans is Dhaka's most important request to Xi Jinping. Large Chinese investments in solar panel production and other outsourcing opportunities in Bangladesh are other top issues.
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Bangladesh's interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, is in China on a four-day visit, the first high-level bilateral summit with a foreign power since the economist, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, took office in August 2024.
This is an extremely sensitive visit from a geopolitical point of view, at a time of worsening relations between Dhaka and New Delhi, after deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sought refuge in India.
Yunus arrived today in the southern province of Hainan to take part in the opening session of the Boao Forum for Asia, the "Davos of the East", promoted by China. Tomorrow he is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, where he will also receive an honorary degree from Peking University.
The official occasion of the visit is the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and the People’s Republic of China; it is significant that Yunus chose to start his visit last night, right at the end of Bangladesh’s Independence Day celebrations.
China's ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen did not hesitate to call it the "most important visit" by a Bangladeshi leader to China in 50 years, as the two countries seek to take relations to a new height.
In his address to the nation on Independence Day, Yunus himself announced that China's largest solar panel manufacturer Longji had expressed interest in opening a factory in Bangladesh.
“We are working with them. In addition, technical assistance, medical assistance, low-cost treatment and other issues will be discussed,” he said, adding that China wants to import mangoes, jackfruit and guava from Bangladesh.
Today, during the meeting with Chinese Executive Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia, Bangladesh officials reiterated a request for lower interest rates on Chinese loans from 3 per cent to 1-2 per cent, as well as a waiver for commissions on Chinese-financed projects in the country.
China’s is Bangladesh's fourth-largest creditor after Japan, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank, with a total of US$ 7.5 billion in loans since 1975.
Yunus' spokesman, Shafiqul Alam, raised another topic with the Chinese government officials and business groups, namely the relocation of Chinese factories to Bangladesh.
“We want to create a revolution in the manufacturing sector,” said the press secretary, adding that this would help create more jobs and boost exports from Bangladesh to the global market.
One of Yunus’s most significant meetings today was with Wu Xiaoling, a former deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, who praised the economist for his contribution to poverty reduction through microcredit programmes and social entrepreneurship initiatives.
'I sincerely wish that, under your leadership, Bangladesh shines,' she said, adding that while China and Bangladesh have different levels of poverty, the Grameen Bank, founded by Prof Yunus, has provided valuable insights for the Chinese people and contributed to the country's development.
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