China will keep in touch with all Bangladesh parties

Chinese Premier Li Qiang

Diplomatic Correspondent: As Bangladesh has a multi-party democratic system, China will keep in touch with all parties. This was stated in a joint statement issued after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to Beijing.
Paragraph six of the statement calls for high-level discussions, enhanced strategic communication, enhanced strategic trust between the two sides through visits, exchange of letters and meetings in the multilateral system.
In addition to mentioning the fact that both sides agreed to increase cooperation and exchanges through official and people-to-people contacts, the paragraph also said, “Both sides expressed their satisfaction
regarding the discussion between the political parties, especially with the government party on the necessary aspects for both sides.”
A former diplomat said, ‘There is only one party in China’s political system. On the other hand, Bangladesh has a multi-party political system. As a result, China has taken the approval of the Bangladesh government through this statement to communicate with all parties in Bangladesh.
He said, “The word ‘Sarkari Dal’ (Governing Party) has been used in the statement. The party that will be in power is the government party and this does not apply only to Awami League.
Beijing has an international consideration in maintaining relations with all parties. China is the world’s second largest economy and has aspirations to become the number one global power. In that context, it is natural that Beijing will maintain contact with all political forces of any country, he said.
Only spread of Chinese culture
Due to increasing economic power, China has recently sought to spread its culture, art and traditions globally. Bangladesh is no exception. Paragraph 14 of the joint statement states that both sides will support the full role of the Center for China Studies. In Article 13, the two countries will support the establishment of Confucius Institutes in universities in Bangladesh and China. It is also said to encourage various educational institutions to introduce various courses in Chinese and Bengali languages.
A former diplomat said, ‘China’s interest and desire shows that they are trying to popularize their culture. In this case, if Bangladesh proposes to set up ‘Bangladesh Center’ or ‘Atish Dipankar Center’ in China, then there is some balance.’
Cooperation in water and agriculture
In paragraph 11 of the statement, the two countries have expressed interest in working together on cooperation in river flow forecasting, river dredging and overall river management.
In this regard, a diplomat said, “The largest river in Bangladesh is the Brahmaputra and its source is China.” The river flows through Arunachal Pradesh in India and enters Bangladesh. If Beijing provides information in their direction, it will be beneficial for Bangladesh to discuss the river with India.
Regarding the interest of the two countries to work together in river dredging and overall river management, he said that China was interested in Teesta river. But due to India’s interest it got delayed. Now Bangladesh and China can work on other rivers.
China is very advanced in agriculture and their technology is very good. Bangladesh-China joint agriculture committee, hybrid rice and wheat seed sowing management and cooperation in agricultural machinery sector were mentioned in the statement.
In this regard, he said, “China’s cooperation in the agricultural sector can have a major positive impact on Bangladesh’s food security.”