Bangladesh and China’s bilateral trade volume and growth rate have reached ‘the best level in history' with the implementation of the "Belt and Road Initiative, the top official of a leading Chinese trade association has said.
Chen Xiao, Secretary-General of Chengdu (China) Association for Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, came up with the remark at a webinar organised by Daffodil International University Belt & Road Research Centre (DBRRC) on Monday.
The earliest trade records can even be traced back to the "Southern Silk Road" starting from Chengdu during China’s Qin and Han Dynasties more than 2,200 years ago, he told the webinar – part of the year-long series of activities entitled “China-Bangladesh Trade Relations: A Search for New Opportunities under the Belt and Road Initiative”.
Professor Dr M Lutfar Rahman, Vice-Chancellor of Daffodil International University, said the newly-established Belt & Road Research Centre (DBRRC) will reduce costs of transport and benefit Bangladesh through enhanced trade and investment.
As well as creating opportunities for employment and income, Bangladesh’s enhanced competitive strength through BRI will help it become better integrated into the global economy, he said.
Dr Sultana Yesmin, former visiting research fellow of Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences (YASS), presenting the keynote paper at the webinar said China and Bangladesh, closer neighbours in the Asian region, have been maintaining deeper political, economic, diplomatic, and military relations based on mutual trust and interests since the establishment of their diplomatic relations in 1975.
Professor Mohammed Masum Iqbal, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Entrepreneurship (FBE), DIU, and Director, Daffodil International University Belt and Road Research Centre, presided over the webinar moderated by Dr AKM Mohsin, Deputy Director of the DIU Belt & Road Research Centre.
Al Mamun Mridha, Joint Secretary General of Bangladesh China Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCCI), Jiang Longtao, Director of Bangladesh Branch, Chengdu (China) Association for Foreign Trade and Economic also attended the webinar.
