Bilateral trade between Beijing and Dhaka is growing and China has become Bangladesh's biggest trade partner.
"Import and export between the two countries increased by 17 per cent and 7.0 per cent respectively in the last fiscal year," said Chinese Ambassador Zhang Zuo in the capital on Monday.
The envoy said this while addressing a meeting organised at the embassy to welcome a group of Bangladeshis who returned recently after undergoing medical treatment in China.
The group left for China on December 17 and returned on December 21. The patients received free treatment fully-funded by the Chinese embassy in Dhaka.
Welcoming the patients, Zhang Zuo said, "This is the result of the close friendship between China and Bangladesh. It is also one of the embassy's continuous efforts to strengthen cooperation between the two countries."
China is rapidly emerging as a desirable destination for individuals seeking healthcare in a wide range of medical specialties, including cardiology, neurology, orthopedics etc, he noted.
He said, "As healthcare is becoming costlier in the developed countries, the medical market in the developing countries is expected to grow remarkably."
Cost-effective treatment, availability of inexpensive flights, increased marketing, and online consumer information seem to be driving the market, according to Ambassador Zhang Zuo.
H B M Lutfur Rahman, Chairman of Irving Group, which was commissioned to manage the trip said, China's medical service is of quality, quite advanced and affordable and could open a new door to Bangladeshis seeking healthcare abroad.
