DHAKA ( WNAM MONITORING): The head of the Bangladesh transitional government, Muhammad Yunus, is set to visit China on March 26 on his first trip to that country since taking office in August, the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry confirmed Thursday.
The visit is considered significant as Yunus will meet President Xi Jinping as cold relations continue between Bangladesh and India since the former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had a friendly government with India, resigned because of mass protests.
Yunus will deliver a speech at the opening plenary of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference in the southern Hainan province March 27. BFA is an initiative of 25 Asian countries and Australia to dialogue on Asian and global issues.
He will then meet the executive vice president of the State Council of China on March 28 before meeting the Chinese president, according to the ministry.
Yunus is expected to participate in an event organized at Peking University on March 29 before returning to Bangladesh.
“All the relevant partners are working on what other bilateral issues will be included in this visit. Details will be presented before the visit,” said the ministry.
China is focusing on deepening relations between the two countries after the political changeover in Bangladesh. According to media reports, China will send a chartered aircraft to take Yunus to Beijing.
China, Bangladesh’s largest trading partner, exported $22.9 billion in goods to Bangladesh in 2023. Bangladesh, however, exported $677 million to China that year.
Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen said Tuesday in Dhaka that regardless of the changes in the international or domestic landscape, China remains Bangladesh’s partner.
Foreign Affairs Adviser Md. Towhid Hossain went to Beijing in January.
Yunus took office on Aug. 5 after a student-led uprising put an end to Hasina’s 15-year rule. Hasina has since been in exile in India.
