China invites Hasina for state visit

China has invited Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to visit China at the soonest possible time.

"China earlier extended an invitation to our prime minister. Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh renewed that invitation today," Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud told reporters after a meeting with Chinese Ambassador Yao Wen at the ministry yesterday.

"We will find a suitable time for the visit," he said.

According to foreign ministry sources, China had wanted the prime minister to visit China in September last year, but that was not possible due to her other engagements and the elections.

Hasina last visited China in 2019, three years after Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit Dhaka.

Soon after the elections on January 7, Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated the PM and sought to boost the bilateral relationship.

He said China is a major development partner of Bangladesh, especially in terms of infrastructure development.

At the meeting yesterday, Chinese Ambassador Yao Wen congratulated all concerned in Bangladesh for holding a free, fair, and festive national elections. "China reiterated its position to further strengthen the bilateral relations during the tenure of the new government in Bangladesh," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Hasan Mahmud thanked China for helping with the process to repatriate the Rohingyas.

Ambassador Wen reiterated China's stance that repatriation is the only means to have a sustainable solution to the crisis and China is working with all the stakeholder to that end.

Responding to a question on the Teesta project, he said China is committed to help Bangladesh in this regard but it requires proposal from the Bangladesh side first.