Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming on Saturday suggested Bangladesh turn to China for future development of the country.
"It is time for Bangladesh to look East, to look into the future and to look China now," he said.
He made the suggestion at a virtual seminar on the 5th Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee.
"The situation in the contemporary world is that the West is still stronger than the East, while … the East is the growing power and the future," he said.
"So look East instead of always looking West," the envoy said adding his suggestion for Bangladesh looking ahead to the future.
The Bangladesh-China Silk Road Forum (BCSRF) organised the virtual seminar.
The 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China's fifth plenary session was held in October last year in Beijing.
The session adopted the CPC Central Committee's proposals for the formulation of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for national economic and social development and the long-term objectives through 2035.
Speaking as the chief guest, Mr Jiming said Bangladesh and China have many areas for developing the bilateral relationship, including trade, innovation and green development.
He said both China and Bangladesh are entering their new stage of development following a fruitful bilateral cooperation after President Xi Jinping's visit in 2016.
China is about to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of CPC and embark on the 14th Five-Year Plan to achieve the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035, he said.
Similarly, Bangladesh is about to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its founding and embark on the 8th Five-Year Plan to achieve the Vision 2041, he added.
Mr Jiming said China will steadfastly open up and explore more efficient ways to connect domestic and foreign markets, which include Bangladesh as well, and share factors of production and resources.
"Our aim is to turn the China market into a market for the world, a market shared by all, and a market accessible to all," he said.
The envoy said China gave zero-tariff treatment to 97 per cent of Bangladeshi products, pushing Bangladeshi exports to China into a new golden age, which will inject new impetus to Bangladesh's rapid GDP growth during the 8th Five-Year Plan period.
He said the East Asian nation will promote strategic support for high-quality development based on innovation, new business models, new infrastructure, and strengthen exchanges and mutual learning with Bangladesh and other developing countries to develop a modern industrial system in the post-pandemic era.
Mr Jiming said his country will continue to work jointly with Bangladesh to enlarge the pie of common interests and realize common prosperity.
Member of the BNP Standing Committee Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan said China has moderate progress in the 13th five year plan and they call their society "moderately prosperous".
He said this is a learning for all that despite being the second-largest economy in the world, China calls itself a moderately prosperous nation.
"Our leadership should learn from the Chinese experience," he said.
He said China achieved its GDP growth target and is now looking for further expansion.
Former high commissioner of Bangladesh to China Munshi Faiz Ahmad said China has successfully achieved the target of reaching a moderately prosperous society during the 13th five year plan.
"Now China's target is to build on the achievement and move towards future," he told the webinar, moderated by former additional secretary ABM Khorshed Alam.
Mr Ahmad noted China is moving from export-centric policies to domestic development-centric policies due to de-globalization and protectionist policies of a particular country.
JSD president Hasanul Haq Inu said China's new development policies will benefit Bangladesh and other Asian countries.
Former minister Rashed Khan Menon said the current trend in unilateralism, de-globalisation and protectionism has been hurting the global economy.
To avert such growing risks from the external sources, he said, the CPC has laid emphasis on the domestic market. "Increasing the mobility of domestic resources, China can develop a modern socialist country," he said.
Bangladesh is developing, but income inequality has grown too much, which puts the economy in danger, he said, adding that the 5th plenary session prioritised the issue so that the disparity between people and regions can be reduced.
Editor of The Financial Express Shah Husain Imam hailed the new Chinese development pattern keeping the domestic market as the mainstay.
He said the domestic market saved Bangladesh from the onslaught of global economic meltdown during 2007-2008.
"Of course, we don't compare Bangladesh with China on the same scale, but the fact remains that the domestic market is very important for any populous country," he said.
Dr Tareque Shamsur Rahman, professor of international relations at Jahangirnagar University, termed Chinese development "a role model" for the whole world.
Citing data, he said, gross domestic product (GDP) reached around US$15 trillion by 2020 and if the purchasing power parity (PPP) is taken into consideration, China would overtake the USA by 2025.
At the same time, Dr Rahman said more than 55 million people have climbed out of poverty during the last five years, which is very significant.
"The current trend in development shows us that the CPC leadership is very much accurate and their strategies are correct to take the economy forward," he added.
Former industries minister and BCSRF chairman Dilip Barua said despite the upsurge in de-globalization and the unilateralism and protectionism by the USA and some other countries, the CPC leadership is consolidated-both politically and ideologically-facing uncertain path to reach its goals.
He said the CPC has created a new development pattern where domestic and foreign markets can prosper each other with the domestic market as its mainstay.
Secretary-general of Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) Shah Alam said the Chinese economy started flourishing after the opening up in 1978 to the world.
He said the development is not only benefiting the people of China, but also people living elsewhere. "It (China) is now starting to beat the USA in some indicators," he said.
He also suggested adopting environment-friendly development approaches for ensuring the coexistence of human being and the nature.
BCSRF secretary-general Shahiduzzaman Khan said China plays the "most formidable role" in shaping the global economic growth, so the vision for its growth trajectory is very important not only for its own, but also for the entire world.
Bangladesh has emerged as a key strategic partner of China and is getting huge support from the country for infrastructure development, he said.
"We feel that the success of this 5th year plan and Long Range objectives will immensely benefit Bangladesh too," added Mr Khan, also executive editor of the FE.
He also gave the vote of thanks.
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