Staff Correspondent, Dhaka:
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has called for deeper trade, investment, and development cooperation with China, putting economic delivery at the center of bilateral engagement, as outgoing Chinese Ambassador Yao Wen paid a farewell call on him on Monday.
The meeting comes against the backdrop of a broader effort by Dhaka and Beijing to expand relations beyond traditional infrastructure cooperation. During Tarique Rahman’s June visit to China, the two sides signed 17 memorandums of understanding covering trade, investment, infrastructure, connectivity, and other areas.
The latest emphasis on trade and investment therefore points to a key implementation challenge: translating a widening framework of bilateral commitments into greater market access, investment flows, and productive economic cooperation. During the June visit, Bangladesh also raised the need to address its trade imbalance with China and diversify exports to the Chinese market.
Development cooperation remains another important pillar. Beijing reiterated during Monday’s meeting that its support for Bangladesh’s development efforts would continue, while the Rohingya crisis was also discussed.
For Dhaka, the economic relationship carries both opportunity and policy priorities. Greater Chinese investment could support industrial capacity, infrastructure, and technology transfer, while stronger export access would be important for reducing the longstanding trade gap. The June agreements included investment cooperation and trade expansion, alongside cooperation in areas such as education and human-resource development.
The meeting also comes as Bangladesh seeks to maintain broad-based external economic partnerships. The immediate focus on trade, investment, and development suggests that the next phase of Bangladesh-China relations will be judged increasingly by implementation and measurable economic outcomes rather than the number of agreements alone.
Yao Wen congratulated Tarique Rahman on his participation in the 81st UN General Assembly and his engagements in New York and expressed hope that bilateral relations would continue to strengthen. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir and Bangladesh Investment Development Authority Chairman Ashik Chowdhury attended the meeting.
