Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen on Tuesday said China supports Bangladesh’s interim government in its governance and backs the country’s efforts to hold the general election smoothly and successfully, and pursue a development path that suits its national conditions.

"Bangladesh is now undergoing a pivotal phase of reform and development," he said while speaking at the DCAB Talk.

Asked about the elections in Bangladesh, Yao said China wants a ‘smooth, successful and participatory’ election in Bangladesh.

Asked about the timing, he said it was the people of Bangladesh to decide the time, not any foreign country.

Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) hosted the flagship event at Jatiya Press Club. DCAB President AKM Moinuddin and General Secretary Md Arifuzzaman Mamun also spoke on the occasion.

At the beginning, a one-minute silence was observed, paying deep respect to former DCAB's former President Shamim Ahmad, who passed away on July 7 last, as well as the innocent victims, including children, who tragically lost their lives in the recent aircraft crash into Milestone School and College.

Asked why China did not engage other South Asian countries in the first place, Yao said China found the relationship between Bangladesh and Pakistan warming up, which inspired China to take up the initiative.

China has many other trilateral initiatives and the China-Pakistan-Bangladesh one is only the latest one, he said.

Sought comments on why China was inviting all the political parties, including BNP, Jamaat, National Citizen Party, to visit China over the last several months, the Chinese envoy said that China was engaging with all of the parties as now there is a chance for this.

Over the years, he said, the engagement with the parties like BNP and Jamaat was hindered.

Asked what was the nature of the hindering, Ambassador Yao said, "You know it!"

Ambassador Yao said China is willing to always be a trustworthy good friend, good neighbour and good partner of Bangladesh.

"To help Bangladesh achieve better development, we are ready to strengthen exchanges on governance experience and share experience in economic development, poverty alleviation, disaster prevention and mitigation and climate change response," he said, welcoming Bangladesh as it is playing a greater role in international and regional affairs.

Working Together with South Asian Countries

As the largest neighbour of South Asian countries, the Ambassador said, China stands ready to work together with Bangladesh and other countries in the region to achieve modernisation and jointly contribute to the development and revitalisation of Asia.

He said the China-Bangladesh-Pakistan trilateral vice Foreign Minister/Foreign Secretary meeting was successfully held in Kunming.

"China looks forward to making joint efforts with Bangladesh and Pakistan to solidly advance the trilateral cooperation and achieve tangible results," said Ambassador Yao.

He said Bangladesh is an important member of the Global South and a key development partner in the region.

The envoy said China has always placed Bangladesh in a leading position in its neighbourhood diplomacy, supported Bangladesh in safeguarding its national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and opposing external interference, while exploring a development path suited to its national conditions.

China appreciated Bangladesh’s commitment to the One-China principle and its continued firm support on issues concerning China’s core interests and major concerns.

Regarding the trilateral initiative taken up by China involving Bangladesh and Pakistan, he said, "The objective of the initiative is to enhance cooperation in South Asia. It was stagnant."

Asked why China involved only two South Asian countries and not others, Ambassador Yao said China has briefed about the initiatives with other South Asian nations.

He did not detail the response from the other South Asian countries.