Bangladesh seeks China’s help on Rohingya refugees’ repatriation: ‘we need the situation to come to an end’
- Beijing has used its influence in Myanmar to broker a repatriation agreement before, but the Rohingya refugees previously refused to return
- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Dhaka on Sunday mostly focused on better trade ties, investment and support for infrastructure development
Wang arrived in Dhaka on Saturday evening and met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen. They discussed bilateral and global issues before his departure on Sunday morning, said Shahriar Alam, Bangladesh’s junior minister for foreign affairs.
Amid recent cross-strait tensions, Bangladesh issued a statement reiterating its support for the “one-China” policy. After winning elections in 2008, Hasina’s administration closed the Taiwanese business representative office in Dhaka in response to a request from Beijing, and since then China has increased its engagement in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s garment industry, which brings in more than 80 per cent of foreign currency from exports, is heavily dependent on China for raw materials.
On Sunday, Wang told Hasina during a courtesy call that his country considers Bangladesh a “strategic development partner” and would continue to support it, said Ihsanul Karim, the presidential press secretary.
The United News of Bangladesh agency reported that Wang also promised to stand beside Bangladesh “on all issues at international forums”.
Alam said that Wang agreed to expand trade benefits by raising to 98 per cent duty-free access from current 97 per cent of Bangladeshi products and services to Chinese markets.
“It’s good news for Bangladesh as we have a thriving economy based on exports,” Alam said. “Now they have offered another 1 per cent from September 1,” he said, adding that the new tax advantage is likely to include garments, woven and other products that had previously faced some barriers.
He said Bangladesh would get a list from China soon about the products and services that would get duty-free access.
Alam said that Wang explained to the Bangladeshi foreign minister that “some countries misunderstand and misinterpret” China. He did not elaborate.
But Momen told reporters separately that the Chinese minister mentioned that a section of Taiwanese people were being provoked against Beijing.
The junior minister said China pledged to work continuously to resolve the Rohingya crisis and quoted Wang as saying that the internal challenges in Myanmar were not only troubling Bangladesh but also other countries.
“Our foreign minister strongly reiterated that Chinese cooperation is needed. China has progressed on resolving the Rohingya issue and we need the situation to come to an end,” Alam said.
On Sunday, Bangladesh and China signed or renewed four agreements and memorandums of understanding on disaster management, infrastructure and cultural exchanges.
Analyst Munshi Faiz Ahmad, who served as Bangladeshi ambassador in Beijing, said that Wang’s visit was very significant for both countries.
“To resolve the Rohingya crisis Bangladesh needs support from China. This visit will help strengthen the bilateral relations,” Ahmad said.
“To us, China is very important. We also need to maintain good relations with both India and the United States as they are also very important development partners of Bangladesh. There is nothing to be afraid of because of Bangladesh’s close ties with China.”