Boosting up ties with China

Boosting up ties with China
The Prime Minster of Bangladesh is going to start her five-day state visit to People’s Republic beginning from March 17, 2010. This will be her first visit to China since AL led grand alliance assumed the power. Though she had already drawn attention of the global community in various international forums and paid a significant visit to India, she has taken the decision to visit China at the end of her fourteen month office. Probably three main issues will take the center stage of her discussion with her counterpart of China. Bangladesh has maintained diplomatic relations with China since relation was officially established on Ocbter4, 1975. Since then, the friendly relations and cooperation between the two courtiers have been growing soundly and smoothly. Fruitful cooperation has been achieved in the fields of politics, economy, military and culture. Both the countries share basically identical options on most international and regional issues. There have existed between China and Bangladesh frequent exchange of high-level visits, increasing contacts as well as expanding cooperation in various fields.
In matters of diplomacy the question of permanent friendship or enmity does not exist. China is one of the few countries that did not support Bangladesh’s war of liberation. But the years since 1975 an excellent friendly tie existed Bangladesh and China. When we fought for our independence China backed Pakistan that was acting as the conduct in the Ping-Pong diplomacy that led to narrowing distance between USA and China. As USA supported Pakistan and China had acrimonious relations with India since 1962, she did not support our war of liberation.
Fruitful diplomatic ties between Bangladesh and China date back to 1975 when Ziaur Rahman carried out a foreign policy on non-alignment and activity.In January 1977 under China’s invitation Ziaur Rahamn visited China as Chief Executive of Martial Law and Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh. The two governments signed the Agreement of Economic and Technical Cooperation and the Agreement of Trade Payment. In March 1978 Vice Premier Li Xinannian visited Bangladesh as the first Chinese leadership to Bangladesh. In August 1980 President Ziarurahman again visited China and inked the Agreemnt of Loans and the Ageement of Aviation Transport. Hussain Muhammd Ershad also attached great importance to the development of relations between e two countries and h e paid five times visit to China during his nine-year terms. In March 1989, President Li Xiannian of China visited Bangladesh. In November 1989 Premier Li Peng paid an official visit to Bangladesh and Mutual Exemption of Visas and the Agreement of Trade. In March 1991 Prime Minister Khaleda Zia paid a visit to China and vowed to further strengthen the relations between Bangladesh and China. In 1996 Sheikh Hasina visited China and in 1999 Li Peng Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China took an official visit to Bangladesh. During the Millennium Summit in September 2000, Prime Minster Hasina attended upon invitation the breakfast meeting held by President Jiang Zemin. In January 2002 Khaladea Zia visited China as the second time prime minister of Bangladesh.
Trade relation between these two nations can also be recounted. Bangladesh is the third largest partner of China in South Asia but the bilateral trade between them is highly tilted in favour of Beijing. Bilateral trade reached as high as USD 3.19 billion in 2006 reflecting a growth of 28.5% between 2005 and 2006. China has bolstered its economic aid to Bangladesh to address concerns of trade imbalance. Bangladesh exports to China amounted only about 98.8 dollars . Under the auspices of Asia –Pacific Free Trade Agreement China removed tariff barriers to 84 types of commodities imported from Bangladesh and is working to reduce tariffs over the trade of jut and textiles which are Bangladesh’s chief domestic products. China mainly imports raw materials from Bangladesh like leather, cotton, textiles, fish etc. in 2007 Chinese Assistant Minister of Commerce , Wang Chao visited Bangladesh with 39 member purchase delegation. It is the biggest purchase delegation ever to Bangladesh with over ten companies list of China’s top 500 and some of them in world’s top 500. They purchased goods worth of 5o million dollars. Bangladesh Army of Bangladesh has been equipped with Chinese tanks, its navy ahs Chinese frigate and missile boats and the Bangladesh Air Force flies Chinese fighter jets. In 2008 Bangladesh set up a missile launch pad near Chittagong Port with assistance from China though it won India’s criticism.
Recently some issues stand in the way of the smooth tie between Bangladesh and China. The governments’ unilateral decision to change the name of Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre has also not pleased China. During the Bangladesh-china joint Commission held in Beijing in July last year, the Bangladesh delegation placed before the Chinese projects worth US$5.14 billion but they showed interest only in five out of twenty-eight projects. Bangladesh’ support for Indian to be included in the UN Security Council as BNP did for Japan invited anger for China.
The geographic area encompassing South Asia and its contiguous maritime spaces are of growing strategic importance to China, as reflected in China’s web of partnerships coalitions with states in the region. The dynamics of theses relationships appear on the surface to be based on interdependence but are actually driven by long term political, economic and strategic interests. Among the south Asian states, Bangladesh is an important player in Beijing’s political –military calculus. New Delhi is anxious about Bangladesh’s growing military contacts on several fronts. First, concern arises from India’s vulnerability in the Siliguri corridor, often referred to a s the ‘chicken neck’. This 200 kilometers long and 40 km wide corridor links mainland Indian burial, road and air with its Northeast regions. At present, there is significant PLA deployment along the borders. To its north is Bhutan, and in the south is Bangladesh. The Siliguri corridor figures prominently in the Sino-Bangladesh friendship and the two sides. According to Indian military experts have a sophisticated strategy to sever India from the Northeast region. It is also noted that China wants to get Tiawang to come closet to the SIlurgy corridor so that it can link up with Bangladesh from the north .
China has been developing port facilities in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar and is planning to build railroad lines in Nepal to link to Lasha in Tibet. China reputedly has access to the Myanmar naval base in Hanggyi island and established an monitoring station at Coco island, north of India’s Andaman and Nicobar islands. China is also building a new port at Hambantota in southern Sir Lanka and Gwador in Baluchistan. Given the above realities Bangladesh’s geographic location is both an advantage and a limitation of the conduct of its foreign policy. Bangladesh has to play a delicate balancing act between the two Asian giants namely India and China. We cannot afford to anger neither India nor China.
The importance of China in the global arena has increased significantly over the years. It is on the way to play the lost role of Soviet Union. We must retain the fruitful relation with her. We are already indebted to her for her participation in many of our development activities. She has built six bridges in Bangladesh. The last bridge opened on February 18, 2008 over the Dhakewari River linking Dhaka with Munshigonj. Since China is an agent of robust economic growth Bangladesh must take advantage of it and gradually integrate its economy with the Chinese economy. A chief mechanism is interconnectivity with multi modal transport to China’s Yunnan province thought Myanmar. Furthermore, Bangladesh may link up to China through a railroad through Nepal. Bangladesh will build a deep-sea port near Cox’s Bazar . The prime mistier offered regional countries, including China, the use of this deep sea port she demonstrates a vision of an inclusive plural and rapidly developing region of interdependent economically developed countries playing their roles.
Ex-ambassador Harun or Rashid has rightly said ‘‘Security and development are the two pillars o Bangladesh diplomacy’. It does not mean only territorial security, but also water, food, energy, environment and power security. “Bangladesh would seek from China primarily economic support worth US$3 billion and Chinese investment in Bangladesh to offset the trade imbalance between the two countries which is worse than Bangladesh’s trade imbalance with India. As our diplomacy stands on a very sensitive and crucial point, we need to involve professional diplomats and highly intellectual individuals to deal with China and India lessening political considerations. We should be careful enough not to advertise more than our gain from the visit.
Md. Masum Billah
Senior Manager: brac Education Programme, PACE
10th floor, 75, Mohakhali, Dhaka 1212.
Phone: 9355253 (home), 01714-091431(cell)
Email: mmbillah2000@yahoo.com
Date: 15 March 2010.