China's Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, paid a visit to his Bangladeshi counterpart Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali on Sunday to talk about the ways that they could further improve the bilateral relationship between their countries.
A report by Xinhua said that Wang talked about China's appreciation of Bangladesh's continuous support on various matters concerning China's interests as a nation, and that China wants both countries to take the opportunity to promote the implementation of the agreements between their governments agreed upon and to continue their comprehensive partnership.
The Chinese foreign minister further said that China is ready to cooperate with other neighboring countries to achieve mutually beneficial development and prosperity.
He added that China considers its relations with South Asian nations as high priority and aims to strengthen their cooperation in order to up the tempo of Bangladesh's development while also further developing mutual political trust, said the report.
A four-point proposal on advancing mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries was put forth by Wang.
First, both countries must maintain the speed at which they execute high-level exchanges. Both countries should strongly support each other on major issues in order to establish a strong foundation for improving political mutual trust.
Second, China and Bangladesh must work to boost their pragmatic cooperation. Wang said that China will address bilateral trade imbalance and will be signing a free trade agreement with Bangladesh as soon as possible.
Third, China is prepared to share its knowledge and expertise with Bangladesh in the field of science and technology, machinery, agriculture and conduct cooperation in breeding hybrid rice varieties.
Finally, the Chinese foreign minister said that China will help Bangladesh in building industrial parks in their country by training management personnel. He also stated China's willingness to help Bangladesh join in the exploration and utilization of oil and gas resources and development of hydroelectric and coal-fired power plants. China also aims to help in creating transportation infrastructure such as bridges, ports and railways.
Wang also discussed China's eagerness to create closer relations with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), an economic corridor along India and Myanmar in addition to the two countries. China appreciates Bangladesh helping build the cooperation.
Ali answered the proposal on a positive note, expressing gratitude and stating agreement to the proposals. Bangladesh expects that their bilateral ties with China will both be deepened and widened. He says that the proposal is in the interest of Bangladesh.