Rohingyas must go back and China is continuing its efforts: Li Jiming

Staff Reporter :
China said that the Rohingyas must go back to their homeland and they have been continuing their efforts for early repatriation of the displaced people after being persecuted by the Myanmar military crackdown.
China would not sit idle if Bangladesh was in any emergency situation including energy crisis, Chinese Ambassador Li Jiming said on Wednesday in reply to a query while holding DCAB talk at the Jatiya Press Club in the capital.
Replying to a query of China’s support in energy, Li Jiming said, “China itself imports energy. We don’t have any situation to export. But in case of any emergency in Bangladesh, China will not sit idle rather extend their hands of cooperation.”
Regarding the unresolved Rohingya crisis, the envoy said, “We are silently working on the Rohingya crisis. Surely, our efforts will have its impacts. China is sincere and working seriously to reach a solution to the crisis.”
“The Rohingya crisis has to be solved bilaterally. We have an Asian way of solving it. The American or European way will not help,” he added.
The Chinese Ambassador also mentioned that when Bangladesh sought their support and cooperation in the border rules violation by Myanmar,
their ambassador in Myanmar talked to the Myanmar authorities and conveyed the message accordingly.
Li Jiming further said that the Myanmar side had assured China of their preparation for the Rohingya repatriation, but due to the internal conflicts between Myanmar army and armed group ARSA, the process is being delayed and Bangladesh has to wait for the time being.
In another question, the Chinese envoy also said China will stand beside Bangladesh as a strategic partner in time of need.
He said that the economic condition of Bangladesh is much better than that of Sri Lanka and there was no ‘debt trap’ issue.
“There is no Chinese debt trap in Bangladesh. There is no Chinese debt trap globally. The total foreign debt level in Bangladesh is much lower. According to the Euro-financial ministry, it stands at 36 percent, which is much lower than Sri Lanka,” he added.
As an economic powerhouse accounting for 18.5 percent of the world economy, China has always been committed to joint development with neighboring countries, including Bangladesh, he added.
“Under the able leaderships from both ends, China-Bangladesh relations have grown healthily and steadily, and foresee a promising outlook,” he added.
About China’s foreign relations, he said, “China will keep committed to peaceful development and dedicate itself to promoting a human community with a shared future. We never seek hegemony or engage in expansionism.” The envoy said that China wants a peaceful and stable Bangladesh to continue the pace of development. “Peace and stability are prerequisites for development. Any problem, therefore, should be solved in a democratic and peaceful way,” he added.
Li Jiming also mentioned that China did not want any arms race over the Bay of Bengal region which has become a centre of global focus. “We don’t have any strategic rivalry with India. If we work together, many of the regional problems can be solved,” the envoy said. In reply to a query of the declining foreign reserves in Bangladesh, he said that the problem was created by the Ukraine-Russia war. About the trade between Bangladesh and China, he said, “In the first eight months of 2022, trade in goods between China and Bangladesh amounted to $18.83 billion, registering a year-on-year increase of 23.9 per cent.” “With the 98 per cent zero-tariff treatment from September, it is expected that Bangladesh’s export to China would be boosted, enlarging our bilateral trade volume while making the trade account more balanced,” he added. DCAB President Rezaul Karim Lotus and its General Secretary AKM Moinuddin also spoke on the occasion.