During the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Bangladesh has asked China for help in returning Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.
A November 2017 agreement to repatriate roughly 700,000 Rohingya who had fled persecution in Myanmar in August had been mediated by China using its clout in that country.
The refugees rejected attempts to have them returned because they were afraid of danger in Myanmar, which was made worse by the military coup last year.
Wang visited the foreign minister AK Abdul Momen and prime minister Sheikh Hasina after arriving in Dhaka on Saturday. Before his departure on Sunday, they spoke about both domestic and international matters, according to Bangladesh’s junior foreign minister Shahriar Alam.
Bangladesh enjoys close ties with China, a significant trading partner that primarily deals in raw commodities. Bangladesh, which also balances diplomatic and trade connections with India and the United States, China’s primary adversaries, finds it difficult to maintain tight ties with Beijing.
In Bangladesh, there are more than 500 Chinese enterprises operating. China is participating in all of the nation’s major infrastructure projects, including highways, river tunnels, seaports, and its largest bridge over the River Padma, which cost $3.6 billion to construct.
Bangladesh reiterated its support for the “one-China” policy in a statement amid recent tensions between China and Taiwan.
In response to a request from China, Hasina’s administration shut down the Taiwanese business representative office in Dhaka after winning the 2008 elections. Since then, China has extended its involvement in Bangladesh.
