Misunderstandings on China-related issues must be removed: Chinese envoy

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming on Thursday said the rapid and sound development of China and his country's relations with Bangladesh have played a positive role in shaping Bangladeshi friends' understanding about the Asian giant.

"However, I should admit that there are still some misunderstandings on China-related issues, originating from cultural difference, cognitive bias or fake news," he said.

He was speaking at a programme titled "National Image on China in Bangladesh" held in a city hotel.

The envoy said these will inevitably undermine the friendly base of China-Bangladesh relations and further hinder the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.

The ambassador said there is no so-called "Chinese Debt trap" and the government of Bangladesh knows this well.

According to the data published by the Ministry of Finance of Bangladesh, the country's debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio is 38%, as of June 2021, and external debt accounts for 37% of the overall debt portfolio, said the envoy.

"Among others, debt to China accounts for only 7% of Bangladesh's external debt, as many as 2.58% of the overall debt and 0.98% of GDP," he said.

Photo: UNB

Apparently, the envoy said, the data says by itself that Bangladesh's debt to China falls way below any fiscal threshold of a "debt trap".

In the meantime, China is not even the largest creditor of Bangladesh.

The envoy referred to Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen who said it many times that "there's no scope that Bangladesh will fall into the Chinese debt trap. We cut our coat according to our clothes."

Shabbir Ahmad Chowdhury, secretary (West) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Dr Imtiaz Ahmed, professor of International Relations and director, Centre for Genocide Studies, University of Dhaka; Ambassador Nasim Firdaus, president of Bangladesh Alliance for Women Leadership (BDAWL); Dr Mahbubul Mokaddem (MM Akash), professor and chairman, Department of Economics, University of Dhaka; Ambassador Munshi Faiz Ahmad, former chairman, Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies, also spoke at the event.