Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday said his country
wants to invest in solar panels in Bangladesh and deepen trade and economic
ties with Dhaka.
Wang
Yi expressed his country’s interest as he called on Bangladesh Chief Adviser
Professor Muhammad Yunus on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly at the UN
headquarters here on Wednesday (local time).
He
also called Prof Yunus as "an old friend of the Chinese people," as
he congratulated the chief adviser for assuming the leadership of the interim
government of Bangladesh.
"We
have full confidence in you that you will live up to the expectations of the
people," Wang Yi said, hoping that Prof Yunus would unite the country.
He
said China would attach importance to Prof Yunus's call to Chinese solar panel
manufacturers for setting up plants in Bangladesh.
The
chief adviser made the call when Chinese ambassador in Dhaka met him last
month.
The
Chinese foreign minister said Beijing would also encourage greater cooperation
and partnership between the companies of the two nations.
He
said Bangladesh would also benefit from Chinese decision to allow zero tariff
access to all goods from the Least Developed Countries.
He
also said Chinese Red Cross has sent a team of doctors to treat the students
and people who were grievously injured during the July-August mass uprising.
Wang
Yi said China would welcome more students from Bangladesh as well.
Prof
Yunus thanked China for its gesture, praising "amazing" Chinese
efforts to lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.
He
said Chinese solar companies could invest in a bigger way in Bangladesh, which
enjoys preferable market access to many rich nations. He also called other
Chinese manufacturers to relocate their factories to Bangladesh.
The
chief adviser stressed closer relations with China and opening "a new
chapter" in the ties between the two nations.
He
also called for increasing technological collaboration between the companies of
both nations.
"We
will love to collaborate with Chinese companies. We have a lot of scope to work
together," he said.