China is 'strategically important' for S Asia

As Asia's only permanent member in the UN Security Council, China's say and role in global affairs "cannot be underestimated", he said during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing in Beijing on Tuesday.

Expressing the willingness to make concerted efforts with Bangladesh to achieve "new progress" on bilateral relations, Zhaoxing said China appreciates the valuable support offered by Bangladesh on issues such as Taiwan, human right and Tibet.

"The bilateral relations have become increasingly mature since the two countries forged diplomatic relations 31 years ago and has now entered into a new stage with the establishment of the bilateral all-round cooperative partnership during the mutual visits of the two state heads last year," he said.

Describing China as a reliable friend and partner, Morshed Khan said Bangladesh attaches great importance to the relations with China.

According to Xinhua reports, Foreign Minister Morshed Khan noted that Bangladesh and China have scored remarkable progress in political, trade and science and technological cooperation and maintained close exchange and communication on international and regional issues.

Speaking at the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing on Tuesday, Morshed listed some areas in which Dhaka and Beijing can carry out further cooperation, including energy, economy and trade, human resources development and people-to-people contact.

The closeness and intimacy between China and South Asia is historically and geographically interlinked. The cultural interaction between China and South Asia dates back to centuries. China's current trade volume with all South Asian nations has reached close to 20 billion US dollars a year, he said.

Welcoming China's observer status in Saarc, Morshed said Bangladesh looks forward to China's participation as observer at the next Saarc summit and hoped "it will open one more window" in China's cooperation with South Asia.

He also said Bangladesh, as the incumbent Saarc chair, is glad to facilitate a broader engagement between Saarc and China.

Bangladesh believes that South Asia and China, working under the Saarc umbrella and also on bilateral plane, can harness the potentials of the region by forging cooperative relations in new fields, he added.

During the talks with Morshed, Zhaoxing pledged to further promote China-Bangladesh ties. They also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern.