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Xi to meet heads of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal
BEIJING: China’s strategic interests in South Asia will be on President Xi Jinping’s mind when he flies out of Cambodia and lands in Bangladesh on October 14 – the
BEIJING: China’s strategic interests in South Asia will be on President Xi Jinping’s mind when he flies out of Cambodia and lands in Bangladesh on October 14 – the first Communist Party of China (CPC) chief and head of state to visit the country in 30 years.
Assistant foreign minister Kong Xuanyou couldn’t stop gushing about the importance of Xi’s trip to Dhaka when he met reporters on Monday morning to talk about the president’s visit to Cambodia, Bangladesh and India beginning October 13.
Kong repeatedly stressed Bangladesh’s role in Xi’s dream project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which aims to connect China to Eurasia through intricate and ambitious infrastructure projects over land and sea. Xi’s South Asian sojourn will not end in Dhaka. He flies to Goa on October 15 for the two-day BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) Summit.
He is slated to meet Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” on the sidelines. Both have been invited to Goa as leaders of countries in the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). The grouping also includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and Thailand.
Xi’s meeting with Prachanda will be keenly followed as the former’s visit to Nepal this month was abruptly cancelled.
The initial focus will be on Xi’s visit to Bangladesh, where he is slated to sign a number of deals. “China always values relations with Bangladesh. We see an important cooperation partner in South Asia and Indian Ocean region,” Kong said – words India will follow closely.
“We are ready to work with Bangladesh to promote building of Belt and Road so that it brings more benefit to our people. (The visit) will be a milestone in China-Bangladesh relations. It is also a major diplomatic endeavour of President Xi,” he added.
