On the afternoon of August 23, 2023 local time, President Xi Jinping met with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg.
Xi Jinping noted that China and Bangladesh enjoy traditional friendship. In 2016, the two sides upgraded the China-Bangladesh relationship to a strategic cooperative partnership, which has charted the course for deepening bilateral cooperation. At present, both China and Bangladesh are at a critical stage of their respective development and revitalization. China will better synergy development strategies with Bangladesh, and work to deepen practical cooperation in various fields, and bring the China-Bangladesh strategic cooperative partnership to a new level, to deliver more benefits to the people of the two countries.
Xi Jinping emphasized that China supports Bangladesh in safeguarding national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and in opposing external interference, so that the country can maintain domestic unity and stability and achieve development and revitalization. China stands ready to work with Bangladesh to continue to firmly support each other on issues concerning their respective core interests. The two sides should strengthen strategic communication and keep close exchanges between various departments and at all levels. Both sides should advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, give full play to the advantages of economic complementarity between the two countries, and step up cooperation in infrastructure, information technology, new energy, agriculture and other fields. The two countries need to strengthen personnel exchanges and deepen people-to-people and cultural exchanges. He extended congratulations on Bangladesh's accession to the New Development Bank established by BRICS countries, and said that China is ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Bangladesh in multilateral affairs and safeguard international fairness and justice as well as the common interests of developing countries.
Sheikh Hasina said that President Xi Jinping's successful state visit to Bangladesh in 2016 has become a milestone event in bilateral relations. She thanked the Chinese side for providing valuable support to Bangladesh in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and economic development, which helped with Bangladesh's national development and improvement of people's livelihoods. The sound Bangladesh-China relationship is based on mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. She extended congratulations on the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative put forward by President Xi Jinping, saying that Belt and Road cooperation has opened a new door of development for Bangladesh. Bangladesh firmly pursues the one-China policy and appreciates the important role China has played in promoting regional peace and stability. Bangladesh stands ready to work with China to deepen bilateral relations and strengthen cooperation in multilateral mechanisms, including BRICS. She believes that the development and growth of the BRICS mechanism will bring new development opportunities to developing countries.
Cai Qi and Wang Yi, among others, attended the meeting.
