Wang Yi’s visit to elevate ties with Dhaka to a new level: Beijing

China has said its State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Bangladesh will elevate the relationship between the two countries to a new level.

“We highly value our relationship with Bangladesh. The visit will elevate the relationship to a new level,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying ahead of Wang’s visit.

The Chinese Foreign Minister is scheduled to arrive Dhaka later today (Saturday) to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues with Bangladesh leadership.

The Spokesperson said they hope the visit will provide an opportunity to further implement the “common understandings” between the leaders of the two countries and “deepen” mutually beneficial cooperation.

Minister Wang is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Sunday morning apart from holding a bilateral meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart AK Abdul Momen the same day.

“They will have an exchange of views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of shared interest,” Chunying said.

Bangladesh will likely deepen both its economic links with China and its security links with India in the long term in order to avoid becoming a full client state of either, according to Foreign Brief.

Potential topics include the expansion of Chinese foreign direct investment and the handover of the 8th Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge to the Bangladeshi government, according to the geopolitical risk analysis site - Foreign Brief.

Almost a third of Bangladesh’s imports come from China, and China has promised to invest $40 billion into joint ventures and infrastructure projects through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it said.