Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi has said that Bangladesh and China are trying relentlessly to minimise the trade deficit between the countries.
He said that China has always been a close ally to Bangladesh when it comes to trade and commerce.
Tipu Munshi said this at a virtual seminar titled “Bangladesh-China economic and trade relations in the aftermath of the Covid-19 global pandemic” jointly organised by Economic Reporters Forum and Bangladesh-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday in the capital.
He said that China was providing Bangladesh duty and quota-free facility for 97 per cent of export items since July 2020.
China has been working alongside Bangladeshi authorities in implementing mega projects such as the Padma bridge, metro rail, Karnaphuli tunnel and Dhaka-Chattogram four-lane highway construction, said the minister.
China has also extended its hands to assist Bangladesh in creating investment opportunities, the minister added.
The minister said that the Chinese president’s Bangladesh visit in 2016 and Bangladesh prime minister’s China tour in 2019 strengthened bilateral relations between the two countries further.
The two countries traded goods and services worth $12.09 billion last year. Of which Bangladesh exported goods and services amounting to $0.60 billion and imported goods and services worth $11.49 billion.
