China congratulates Awami League for victory in Bangladesh polls

Beijing: China on Tuesday congratulated the ruling Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League party in Bangladesh for winning the general elections, saying it wants to strengthen the bilateral strategic partnership with Dhaka and cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

“China congratulates Bangladesh for holding general elections as scheduled and we congratulate Awami League on winning the elections,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.

“As a friend and neighbour, China supports Bangladesh in advancing the post-election political agenda in accordance with the law,” she said.

“We are ready to work with the new Bangladesh government based on mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs to carry out the traditional friendship deepen BRI cooperation and strive for new progress of our strategic partnership of cooperation,” she said.

During President Xi Jinping's visit to Dhaka in 2016, China was committed to providing USD 40 billion for various investment projects under which Bangladesh will receive USD 26 billion for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects and USD 14 billion for joint venture projects.

BRI is an ambitious programme for raising China-funded infrastructure across multiple countries aimed at boosting China’s economic and diplomatic clout.

The rapid expansion of Chinese investments in Bangladesh was regarded as the second highest by Beijing after the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Observers say Prime Minister Hasina who has been in power since 2009 maintained close ties with India and China and made effective use of investments from both countries to develop road and industrial infrastructure in the country.