Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning announces:
At the invitation of Premier Li Qiang of the State Council, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of the People's Republic of Bangladesh will pay an official visit to China from July 8 to 10.
Hubei Media Group: To follow up on your announcement of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit, could you share with us the program and China's expectation for the visit? How does China view the current China-Bangladesh relations?
Mao Ning: This will be Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's first visit to China since her new term began and five years after her last visit to China. During the visit, President Xi Jinping will meet with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Premier Li Qiang will hold a welcoming ceremony and have talks with her. The two prime ministers will attend the signing ceremony of cooperation documents. Leaders of the two countries will have an in-depth exchange of views on how to deepen traditional friendship and expand mutually beneficial cooperation and on regional and international issues of mutual interest. Prime Minister Hasina will also attend the Summit on Trade, Business and Investment Opportunities between China and Bangladesh.
China and Bangladesh are good neighbors, good friends and good partners. We have similar visions for development and well-aligned development strategies. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations 49 years ago, the two countries have treated each other with respect and equality, engaged in mutually beneficial cooperation, supported each other on issues concerning our respective core interests, and jointly advanced modernization. We have set a good example of friendship and cooperation between developing countries. In recent years, with the strategic guidance and commitment of leaders of our two countries, the two sides have deepened China-Bangladesh strategic cooperative partnership, and had fruitful and practical cooperation in various fields. China stands ready to work with Bangladesh through this visit to carry forward the spirit of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, deepen political mutual trust, further synergize development strategies, advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, speed up implementing the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, and elevate our bilateral relations to a new level.