China’s envoy now apprehends delays in mega projects
The Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh has gone back on his assurance from five days ago that Bangladesh's mega projects involving Chinese nationals would not face any hold-ups for the lethal coronavirus-imposed lockdown, in an indication of the escalating gravity of the disease.
The number of deaths from the novel coronavirus has risen to 1,770 at the time of writing. There have been more than 71,000 cases worldwide, with the vast majority of those in mainland China.
Less than 10 per cent of the Chinese nationals had gone home for the Lunar New Year, the most important festival of the year in China, Li Jiming, the Chinese envoy, had said in a press conference at the National Press Club on February 12.
But they would be quarantined and checked before being allowed back, he said, expressing hope that there would be no significant interruption to the work. The programme was organised by the Bangladesh China Chamber of Commerce and Industry to provide an overall insight into the coronavirus outbreak in China.
But in a separate discussion -- 'Current coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in China and our stand' -- organised by the Bangladesh-China Business Association (BCBA) yesterday at the same venue, he said there might be delays as the Chinese nationals could not return to work.
"A lot of Chinese nationals working in major projects in Bangladesh can't return on time after the spring festival holiday. Most of them are technicians, engineers and project managers. Thus the progress of these projects might by delayed," he said yesterday.
The mega projects include the Padma bridge and its rail link, a 1320MW thermal power plant in Payra, a rail link connecting Chattogram to Cox's Bazar (Ramu), a tunnel under the Karnaphuli river and upgradation of the Dhaka bypass road.
The projects involve several Chinese companies and are being implemented through Bridges Division, Bangladesh Railway, Power Division and the Roads and Highways Department.
Li said China was currently the largest source of imports for Bangladesh.
Due to tightened customs sanitation controls and suspension of operations of many Chinese exporters, Bangladeshi companies, for now, might not be able to get their requirement of goods, equipment and raw materials on time, he said.
The Chinese ambassador said an epidemic of such a scale would inevitably leave a dent on the economy.
Rumours are running high that the Chinese economy will lose steam and economies closely linked to it will suffer the most.
"Those are not true," he said.
But such rumours can still affect the confidence of Bangladeshis doing business with China and negatively affect bilateral trade, Li said.
"In view of these concerns of the business community, I would like to say, please have faith in China and rest assured. Right now China is making huge economic sacrifices to contain the virus. Chinese companies are also losing money both at home and abroad, and many Chinese projects are being halted."
The ambassador said the epidemic did not come without its disturbing ramifications on the normal bilateral exchanges and economic ties.
According to him, Bangladesh suspended on-arrival visas for Chinese travellers in early February and evacuated 312 Bangladeshi citizens living in the city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus.
As per new regulations of the Bangladeshi authorities, some Chinese airlines have reduced the frequency of flights between the two countries.
"Although the WHO has suggested strongly not to impose international travel restrictions in the wake of the epidemic, we fully understand the legitimate concerns of the Bangladeshi side to protect its own people. And our embassy will take all possible actions to stop the virus from spreading to Bangladesh."
There are 171 Bangladeshi students still in Wuhan, according to Li.
For their own safety and health, local authorities and school managers have advised them not to leave their dorms.
Daily supplies including drinking water, rice, oil, vegetables and other cooking materials are being delivered to them by logistics personnel on a frequent and regular basis, Li added.
Muhammad Zamir, former chief information commissioner, urged the Chinese embassy to regularly post updates on the situation on its website.
There is no scope of having a political viewpoint on the situation as this is a global crisis and not China's alone, said Salim Mahmud, information and research secretary of the Bangladesh Awami League.
Jadab Debnath, president of the BCBA, expressed hope of return to normalcy in 15 days.
"We at the BCBA firmly believe that China will be able to deal with this terrible situation with great sincerity and maximum efficiency and may control the spread."
Despite having concerns, the business community has confidence in China's ability to control the deadly outbreak, he said.
Shyamal Datta, editor of the Bangla daily Bhorer Kagoj, urged the media to refrain from publishing rumours and creating panic.
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