China to Consider Bangladesh Loan Relief Plea, BRI Boost

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China Agrees to Extend Bangladesh Loan Repayment & Open Health Facilities

By Raisina Correspondent

New Delhi, January 22: China has shown willingness to visiting Bangladesh Foreign Advisor Touhid Hossain to open the ‘deep pocket’ for Dhaka. China agreed to extend the loan repayment schedule for Bangladesh while also assuring to consider interest rate reductions.

Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Ministry in a statement said that China is willing to open the healthcare facilities in Kunming city. Bangladesh is hoping for Kunming to emerge as an alternative to Chennai in India for healthcare.

The Ministry also stated that China is considering request of Bangladesh to set up tertiary healthcare facilities in Dhaka. China will also undertake infrastructure development works in Bangladesh under Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

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“Beijing has provisionally agreed to extend loan repayment period for Bangladesh by 10 years to 30 years,” reported Asian New Network. The agency also stated that China has assured to consider request for interest rate reduction.

Hossain met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Tuesday. “The Foreign Advisor requested China to reduce the interest rate from 2-3 per cent to 1 per cent, waive commitment fee, and extend loan repayment period from 20 years to 30 years for both the Preferential Buyer’s Credit loan and Government Concessional Loan,” said the Chinese Ministry for Foreign Affairs in a statement.

“Bangladesh owes over $5.57 billion in debt to China. China is the fourth largest lender to Bangladesh, accounting for nine per cent of the total debt,” said BD News in a report, while quoting Economic Relations Division of China.

Weeks before her exile from Dhaka, ousted Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has also visited China with similar basket of requests. China had per reports shown no interest in loan repayment tenure advancement and rate rejig. Hasina had cut short her visit and returned to Dhaka.

“Beijing is willing to work with Bangladesh to deepen friendship, strengthen strategic communication and advance comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership,” said China’s Foreign Minister was quoted in the official statement saying.

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China will undertake BRI projects in Bangladesh. Hossain is visiting China for his first foreign official tour.

“Modernisation and reform drives in China will offer new opportunities for countries worldwide. China and Bangladesh should coordinate efforts to implement major landmark projects and small but beautiful livelihood programmes,” Wang was quoted by Chinese media outlets.

Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement said that “Dhaka has urged Beijing to designate hospitals in Kunming for the Bangladeshi patients’ treatment”. “Bangladesh also proposed establishing a specialized tertiary-level Chinese hospital in Dhaka,” said the Ministry. All India Radio in a news report said that “Kunming can become a good alternative to Chennai in case of prolonged medical visa constraints for Bangladeshi patients. Kunming city of China in Yunnan province is just 2 hours and 20 minutes by air flight from Dhaka”.

The AIR said in the report that “Bangladesh is facing supply-side constraints for the tertiary-level health facilities”. It added that hospitals of Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and other cities in India had previously been treating Bangladeshi patients.

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