China Bangladesh Photo: VCG
Touhid Hossain, Adviser for Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh’s Interim Government, began a five-day visit to China on Monday, marking his first trip to China since the formation of the interim government in August 2024. The visit sends a signal that the further development of China-Bangladesh relations will remain unaffected by domestic political changes in Bangladesh, an expert told the Global Times.
Hossain departed Monday for China on his first bilateral official trip, aiming to forge a new dimension of Dhaka-Beijing relations, according to Bangladesh media outlet The Business Standard.
At the invitation of Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, Touhid Hossain is scheduled to visit China from January 20 to 24, a spokesperson from the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on January 17.
Guo Jiakun, spokesperson for Chinese Foreign Ministry said that China, as always, attaches great importance to growing its relations with Bangladesh. The year 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of China-Bangladesh diplomatic ties and the “China-Bangladesh People-to-People Exchange Year.”
China stands ready to work with Bangladesh to strengthen interactions at various levels, enhance political mutual trust, deepen high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and exchanges and cooperation in other fields, and advance the China-Bangladesh comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, Guo said.
Hossain’s visit to China can be seen as part of high-level exchanges between the two countries. The visit is aimed at reaffirming Bangladesh’s commitment to continuing and expanding its traditional friendship and cooperation with China. It also sends a clear signal that the further development of China-Bangladesh relations will not be disrupted by domestic political changes in Bangladesh, Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Monday.
Bangladesh was the first country in South Asia to join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Over the years, the alignment of BRI with Bangladesh’s national development strategy has led to substantial and tangible progress. Cooperation in key areas such as major infrastructure projects, trade and economic exchanges, and broader bilateral engagement has seen rapid development, said Qian.
Bangladesh is expected continue prioritizing the implementation of the BRI, focusing on strengthening cultural exchanges, trade cooperation, green economy initiatives, marine ecological protection, and media and think tank collaboration, said Qian.
Bangladesh media New Age cited foreign ministry spokesperson Muhammad Rafiqul Alam as saying that the visit would be very crucial since the bilateral relations between China and Bangladesh was already elevated to “comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.” The report also noted that the adviser would also hold a meeting with a business community of Shanghai for increasing China’s investment in Bangladesh.