DHAKA, Bangladesh
China would reduce the interest rates on Chinese loans, Bangladesh said on Friday as head of the transitional government Muhammad Yunus met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
China would give positive consideration to a host of important issues raised by Bangladesh, including reduction of interest rates on Chinese loans and cooperation on water resources management, Yunus’ press secretary Shafiqul Alam said in a statement on Facebook.
During the meeting, Xi told Yunus: “China’s policy of good neighborliness and friendship towards Bangladesh remains highly stable and consistent, and China is committed to being good neighbors, good friends and good partners of mutual trust with Bangladesh.”
Nothing that this year marks the 50th anniversary of China-Bangladesh diplomatic ties and the China-Bangladesh People-to-People Exchange Year, Xi said: “China is ready to work with Bangladesh to elevate their cooperation and bring greater benefits to the people of both countries,” according to Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.
Xi, according to Alam, said China would “encourage Chinese investment and relocation of Chinese manufacturing enterprises to Bangladesh.”
Yunus is on a four-day visit to China that started Wednesday, his first bilateral foreign tour since he took office last August when former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted from office at the peak of student movement against her government.
The two sides also signed one agreement on economic and technical cooperation and eight MoUs, including in health sectors.
Five announcements were also made, including the launching of formal negotiations on investment, announcement of the commencement of the China Industrial Economic Zone, signing of a commercial agreement for the modernization and expansion of Mongla sea port and the building of a robot physiotherapy and rehabilitation center in Bangladesh.
Xi had hosted Hasina in Beijing few weeks before her ouster, in mid-July, when she paid an official trip to China.
Beijing had pledged an economic assistance of 1 billion yuan ($137 million) to Dhaka during that visit.
In exile in India, Hasina is facing a plethora of cases including corruption and crimes against humanity. She is also accused of allegedly plotting to overthrow the interim government.
