China never acts against Muslims: envoy

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming on Wednesday said his country will continue to work closely with Bangladesh to ensure development, peace and stability in the region.

“We foresee a promising outlook (in terms of relations with Bangladesh). We are ready to work with Bangladesh for a brighter future,” he said, reports UNB.

Ambassador Li was speaking at the latest instalment of “DCAB Talk”, at Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka.

The envoy said that China shares the same views as Bangladesh on the Ukraine issue and highlighted importance of having dialogue and discussion to resolve problems peacefully.

On the Rohingya crisis, Ambassador Li said China is putting in efforts for early repatriation of the Rohingyas to their homeland Myanmar.

The envoy also talked about debt management, global development initiative, trade and investment issues.

“There is no Chinese debt trap in Bangladesh. There is no Chinese debt trap globally,” the ambassador said.

The ambassador said China “never acts against Muslims in the country” and they have no particular reason to hate or discriminate against any group.

“This is totally fake news (what you see in media on Uyghur). I can tell you with certainty,” he said.

Regarding India-China relations, the ambassador said: “We never view India as a strategic rival or competitor. Personally, I’m a big fan of India. We can work together more closely to solve economic and geopolitical issues.”

He emphasised going for the “Asian way” of solving problems.

Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) organised its flagship programme. DCAB President Rezaul Karim Lotus and General Secretary AKM Moinuddin, also the diplomatic correspondent at UNB, also spoke at the programme alongside the Chinese ambassador.