Thaindian News

Beijing, June 20 (IANS) Visiting Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said Monday that her country seeks to boost close bilateral cooperation with China. The two-way trade volume exceeded $7 billion last year.

Bangladesh received great support from China, she said on her visit to the country aimed at enhancing cooperation between the two sides. “China has played a big role in Bangladesh’s development,” she said.

Moni said Bangladesh’s exports to China are increasing but are still low. She said Chinese investments can offset the imbalance to some extent, and that Bangladesh can add value to products it purchases from China, Xinhua reported.

Moni kicked off her eight-day visit to China June 15 and will meet with Vice President Xi Jinping, as well as her counterpart Yang Jiechi.

Prior to her stop in Beijing, Moni toured the Xi’an city in northwest China’s Shaanxi province and Shanghai, the nation’s financial hub.

Moni, who is on her second visit to China since assuming office in 2009, said China’s development has progressed “tremendously”.

“I don’t think the development can be seen as a threat, and we see China as a friend and a responsible player in the world,” she said.

China can play an even bigger role in the world, and also play a major role in restructuring the global financial system and making reforms within the UN, Moni said.

Moni delivered a speech Monday afternoon at the China Institute of International Studies, titled “Foreign Policy of Bangladesh: Priorities, Challenges and Bangladesh-China Relations.”