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China's recovery creates opportunities for higher cooperation with Bangladesh

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China's recovery creates opportunities for higher cooperation with Bangladesh
Liu Zhenhua | Published: February 07, 2021 21:35:18

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China's recovery creates opportunities for higher cooperation with Bangladesh

China ended 2020 on solid footing as the country is set to become the only major economy to post expansion in a year ravaged by the pandemic. China's gross domestic product (GDP) beat expectations with a 6.5 per cent growth in the fourth quarter (Q4), according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The Chinese GDP expanded 2.3 per cent year on year in 2020, exceeding a 100 trillion yuan (US$15.42 trillion) for the first time.

The recovery trend, from a 6.8-percent contraction in Q1 to three consecutive quarters of rebound (3.2 per cent in Q2, 4.9 per cent in Q3 and 6.5 per cent in Q4), will extend into 2021 as the economy has the foundation and conditions to sustain the momentum.

China's industrial sector, being the first to shake off the virus impacts, continued to power ahead, suggests a breakdown of the data. The value-added industrial output surged 7.1 per cent year on year in Q4, accelerating by 1.3 percentage points from Q3 last year. For the whole year, the indicator went up 2.8 per cent year on year.

The fixed asset investment saw a steady recovery, climbing 2.9 per cent year on year in 2020, with investment in high-tech industries, healthcare and education outperforming the average.

One of the hardest-hit by the pandemic, China's retail sales of consumer goods have gradually picked up. Despite a 3.9 per cent fall for the whole year, the key barometer of consumption went up 4.6 per cent in Q4, nearing the sector's pre-epidemic levels.

China's job market remained stable in 2020, with the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas standing at 5.6 per cent, below the government's annual target of around 6.0 per cent, the data showed.

China has taken resolute and swift actions to contain the virus spread, creating conditions for the "V-shaped" economic rebound, which gathered steam following a raft of government measures including more fiscal spending, tax relief, and cuts in lending rates and banks' reserve requirements. Earlier this year, the World Bank Group said that it expected China's economy to expand by 7.9 per cent in 2021, while the global economy is on track to grow by 4.0 per cent.


At a time when the rest of the world is still grappling with rising Covid-19 cases and economic recession, China's hard-won economic rebound will provide inspiration and experience for global economic recovery in the new year.

As Bangladesh entered these difficult times on a much stronger footing compared to many of its peers thanks to low external debt, low overall public debt and comfortable debt service capability in view of its healthy foreign exchange reserve, there are immense opportunities to grow business and pursue further win-win cooperation between China and Bangladesh.

The first opportunity is China's huge market. With a population of 1.4 billion, including a middle-income group of over 400 million, China has a huge market with the greatest potential in the world. In the coming 10 years, it is expected to import goods worth over $22 trillion.

China is the first country in the world to achieve economic recovery amid the pandemic. It will be a major powerhouse for global growth in the post-pandemic era. It will create enormous cooperation opportunities and development space for businesses of all countries. Going forward, Chinese and Bangladesh businesses can seize the opportunities of platforms such as CIIE, the China International Fair for Trade in Services and the China Import and Export Fair to expand trade and economic cooperation. Working together, the business communities could contribute to recovery and growth of both the economies and bring more benefits to our peoples.


The second opportunity is China-Bangladesh open and win-win cooperation. In building the "dual circulation" development paradigm, China is committed to opening up at a higher level on all fronts. This will enable better connection and sharing of production factors and resources between the domestic and international markets in a more efficient way.

Bangladesh offers generous opportunities for foreign investment under its liberalised Industrial Policy and export-oriented, private sector-led growth strategy. With the increasingly improved business environment, China and Bangladesh could continue to strengthen development strategy coordination and fully exploit the potential of cooperation in various fields, such as infrastructure, currency, energy, transportation, agriculture, 5G communications, high-speed railway, aerospace, and blue economy.

China and Bangladesh can actively explore the possibility of signing a free trade agreement to further support more movements of goods and production factors between our two countries.

The third opportunity is to build better global governance by joining hands. China will actively build partnerships with countries of the world, remain committed to multilateralism and the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and take an active part in the reform and development of the global governance system. China will uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core, uphold the international order based on international law and uphold the multilateral trade system with the WTO at its centre.

China will also take an active part in international cooperation on the prevention and control of major infectious diseases, and advance the building of a global community of health for all. Bangladesh is always playing an important role in building global governance system. China and Bangladesh can join hands to be defenders of world peace, contributors to global development, and upholders of international order.

To build and develop strategic partnership of cooperation between China and Bangladesh is the common cause of our two countries. China will, as always, do its utmost to strengthen China-Bangladesh friendship and solidarity and intensify all-round cooperation between us. At the moment, both our countries are at a new, important development stage. I sincerely hope we can seize these opportunities to contribute to the continuous progress and deepen a win-win partnership between China and Bangladesh.

Liu Zhenhua is the Commercial Counsellor of Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh.

For further communication: eocyang2020@gmail.com


 
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China can be either your greatest friend or your worst foe. It is difficult to anger Chinese, as we give everyone so many chances to renounce their hostility.

It is good to see Bangladesh choosing wisely.
 
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China can be either your greatest friend or your worst foe. It is difficult to anger Chinese, as we give everyone so many chances to renounce their hostility.

It is good to see Bangladesh choosing wisely.

There is no alternative other than having China as a development partner.

India could have done this too, but oh well, to each country their own.

China can move all their sunset industries to Bangladesh where entrepreneurs will be too eager to oblige and have entirely different and more productive work ethic than in India. I should know - I am in close relationship with many Dhaka chamber members and industrialists.

In any case, industrial diversification in Bangladesh is much stronger in Bangladesh right now than more than a decade ago. We manufacture most of our motorcycles and a lot of appliances/cellphones/electronics locally nowadays. May be small potatoes compared to China, but you have to start somewhere and can't stay with apparel all your life.

One good indicator is the number of flights between Dhaka and closer Chinese cities such as Kunming and Shenzhen/HK. I hear traffic has increased tenfold.

Chinese investors are visiting even remote Bangladesh towns.

And of course Chinese are involved in many, many mega projects in Bangladesh, such as power projects, large bridges etc.

Just look at the infra-development thread brother,

 
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There is no alternative other than having China as a development partner.

India could have done this too, but oh well, to each country their own.

China can move all their sunset industries to Bangladesh where entrepreneurs will be too eager to oblige and have entirely different and more productive work ethic than in India. I should know - I am in close relationship with many Dhaka chamber members and industrialists.

In any case, industrial diversification in Bangladesh is much stronger in Bangladesh right now than more than a decade ago. We manufacture most of our motorcycles and a lot of appliances/cellphones/electronics locally nowadays. May be small potatoes compared to China, but you have to start somewhere and can't stay with apparel all your life.

One good indicator is the number of flights between Dhaka and closer Chinese cities such as Kunming and Shenzhen/HK. I hear traffic has increased tenfold.

Chinese investors are visiting even remote Bangladesh towns.

And of course Chinese are involved in many, many mega projects in Bangladesh, such as power projects, large bridges etc.

Just look at the infra-development thread brother,


I am very confident in Bangladesh's economic future not only in sunset industries but as a technological partner of China, as long as Bangladesh maintains its independence and Bangladeshis understand the unique role they play in the subcontinent's economy.
 
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I am very confident in Bangladesh's economic future not only in sunset industries but as a technological partner of China, as long as Bangladesh maintains its independence and Bangladeshis understand the unique role they play in the subcontinent's economy.

Understood - appreciate your well wishes. Bangladesh is laser-focused on developing infra at the moment to prepare for middle income status (instead of worrying about useless geopolitics), work on three new ports are well underway (two extant) and there are inland railway and riverine container ports functioning. One of the new ports will have a draft of 17 meters plus, and will be able to serve large Panama class container-carrier mother vessels.

There are over a hundred new SEZ's being developed, with five large ones almost ready to go. The largest one near our oldest port of Chittagong has an area of over 30,000 acres. I don't want to mention how many national highways and expressways are being expanded to four, some even to ten-lane standard. A lot of dizzying progress happening, too many to keep track of, really.

Right now, the formula in Bangladesh is for making maximum utilization of the semi-skilled labor and their low wage value addition locally to assemble products such as the following in labor intensive fashion - the govt. considers these thrust sectors for exports:
  • Shoes (high quality athletics and dress varieties - some direct to Italy for many luxury brands),
  • apparel (Bangladesh is in 2nd position globally as we all know)
  • glassware (still nascent but growing to meet local demand)
  • steel cutlery (still nascent but growing to meet local demand)
  • ceramics, bone China and porcelain crockeries (very well established locally for four decades with brands like Noritake, Mikasa and Pfaltzgraff sourcing from here, among others)
  • Pharma (four manufacturers had Covid vaccines ready for approval by March 2020, and there are more than two dozen reputed exporters, some with GMP/ISO certified plants exporting to EU & US)
  • Furniture (some companies have heavily invested in robotics, and are volume exporters)
  • Toys and sporting goods (expanding with Chinese investments and relocations, a lot of diecast (spin cast) ZAMAC toys being manufactured, from what I have seen.)
  • Kitchen/household Small Electrics including Pressure and Rice Cookers (to meet local demand)
  • Cellphones (Bangladesh manufactures and assembles over 75% of demand locally.
  • Durable white appliances (Fridges, Aircon, LED TVs - also established to meet local demand/exports)
  • Small engine implements (Mostly Motorbike Assembly for local demand with some agricultural implements and tools - but exports have started for the last couple of years)
  • Agro-processing products like Food & Beverage such as canned vegetables, juices, fruit (meets export demand with high grade int'l packaging such as PET bottles, cans and Tetra paks)
  • Leather and leather products like bags, wallets, belts from high quality local kid leather (meets export demand)
  • Shipbuilding (Very well established to meet export and local demand since eons, especially 1500's) - there are some very good yard owners and exporters, local CAD/CAM design expertise is solid).
  • Software and IT services (Desktop publishing, utility applications and Japanese/Chinese services are present, Bangladesh is the second largest IT and software services provider in Asia, after India).
  • Paper Products (Hardbound Books and paper packaging etc. where English literacy is a key requirement)
  • Plastics (esp. Toys, baby items and Food storage items made of PP, PS, ACRYLIC, Nylon etc,)
Some of these manufacturers I know of personally and can introduce to Chinese business-folks. These manufacturers are some of the more reputed highly educated business people that belong to the Chambers (especially the two/three in Dhaka that I also frequent) and are well known in Int'l diplomatic circles in town as well. I have little to gain from this, but I can help.

These people per my information have a high degree of integrity and business ethics and are not fly-by-night operators by far (unlike in places like India where there are a whole lot of unsavory characters you cannot trust for long term business).

I am glad that the industrial progress in Bangladesh is in good hands who have stewardship of worker well-being foremost in their minds. Most larger apparel factories have day-care facilities, some even provide meals and entertainment for their workers.

They also have to abide by strict EU environmental directives, with effluent and smoke discharge requirements. Bangladesh has a very large percentage of "green factories" - especially for apparel.
 
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There is no alternative other than having China as a development partner.

India could have done this too, but oh well, to each country their own.

China can move all their sunset industries to Bangladesh where entrepreneurs will be too eager to oblige and have entirely different and more productive work ethic than in India. I should know - I am in close relationship with many Dhaka chamber members and industrialists.

In any case, industrial diversification in Bangladesh is much stronger in Bangladesh right now than more than a decade ago. We manufacture most of our motorcycles and a lot of appliances/cellphones/electronics locally nowadays. May be small potatoes compared to China, but you have to start somewhere and can't stay with apparel all your life.

One good indicator is the number of flights between Dhaka and closer Chinese cities such as Kunming and Shenzhen/HK. I hear traffic has increased tenfold.

Chinese investors are visiting even remote Bangladesh towns.

And of course Chinese are involved in many, many mega projects in Bangladesh, such as power projects, large bridges etc.

Just look at the infra-development thread brother,


I've noticed that Bangladeshis seem to be more humble and hardworking than Indians too. I wonder why?
Understood. Bangladesh is laser-focused on developing infra at the moment to prepare for middle income status (instead of worrying about useless geopolitics), work on three new ports are well underway and there are over a hundred new SEZ's being developed, with five large ones almost ready to go. The largest one near our oldest port of Chittagong has an area of over 30,000 acres. I don't want to mention how many national highways and expressways are being expanded to four, some even to ten-lane standard.

Right now, the formula in Bangladesh is for making maximum utilization of the semi-skilled labor and their low wage value addition locally to assemble products such as the following in labor intensive fashion:
  • Shoes (high quality athletics and dress varieties - some direct to Italy for many luxury brands),
  • apparel (Bangladesh is in 2nd position globally as we all know)
  • glassware (still nascent but growing to meet local demand)
  • steel cutlery (still nascent but growing to meet local demand)
  • ceramics, bone China and porcelain crockeries (very well established locally for four decades with brands like Noritake, Mikasa and Pfaltzgraff sourcing from here, among others)
  • Pharma (four manufacturers had Covid vaccines ready for approval by March 2020, and there are more than two dozen reputed exporters, some with GMP/ISO certified plants exporting to EU & US)
  • Furniture (some companies have heavily invested in robotics, and are volume exporters)
  • Toys and sporting goods (expanding with Chinese investments and relocations, a lot of diecast (spin cast) ZAMAC toys being manufactured, from what I have seen.)
  • Kitchen/household Small Electrics including Pressure and Rice Cookers (to meet local demand)
  • Cellphones (Bangladesh manufactures and assembles over 75% of demand locally.
  • Durable white appliances (Fridges, Aircon, LED TVs - also established to meet local demand/exports)
  • Small engine implements (Mostly Motorbike Assembly for local demand with some agricultural implements and tools - but exports have started for the last couple of years)
  • Agro-processing products like Food & Beverage such as canned vegetables, juices, fruit (meets export demand with high grade int'l packaging such as PET bottles, cans and Tetra paks)
  • Leather and leather products like bags, wallets, belts (meets export demand)
  • Shipbuilding (Very well established to meet export and local demand since eons, especially 1500's) - there are some very good yard owners and exporters, local CAD/CAM design expertise is solid).
  • Software and IT services (Desktop publishing, utility applications and Japanese/Chinese services are present, Bangladesh is the second largest IT and software services provider in Asia, after India).
  • Paper Products (Hardbound Books and paper packaging etc. where English literacy is a key requirement)
  • Plastics (esp. Toys, baby items and Food storage items made of PP, PS, ACRYLIC, Nylon etc,)
Some of these manufacturers I know of personally and can introduce to Chinese business-folks. These manufacturers are some of the more reputed highly educated business people that belong to the Chambers (especially the two/three in Dhaka that I also frequent) and are well known in Int'l diplomatic circles in town as well. I have little to gain from this, but I can help.

These people per my information have a high degree of integrity and business ethics and are not fly-by-night operators by far (unlike in places like India where there are a whole lot of unsavory characters you cannot trust for long term business).

I am glad that the industrial progress in Bangladesh is in good hands who have stewardship of worker well-being foremost in their minds. Most larger apparel factories have day-care facilities, some even provide meals and entertainment for their workers.

They also have to abide by strict EU environmental directives, with effluent and smoke discharge requirements. Bangladesh has a very large percentage of "green factories" - especially for apparel.

Out of all the South Asian countries, it seems like Bangladesh is the most successful and intent on replicating the East Asian development model. I really hope they succeed.
 
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I've noticed that Bangladeshis seem to be more humble and hardworking than Indians too. I wonder why?


Out of all the South Asian countries, it seems like Bangladesh is the most successful and intent on replicating the East Asian development model. I really hope they succeed.

Eh I see minimal difference between a Bangaldeshi and an Indian , Bangaldesh wants to follow a East Asian model like for ex Taiwan or South Korea but again judging by its massive levels of corruption and brain drain Bangaldeshs future is a 50/50.

Bangladeshis are hardworking but it's not hardwork that makes a nation succeed alone it's also smart work. Sadly Bangaldesh education system sucks and it suffers from brain drain.

If Bangaldesh can stop most corruption and empower the youth and along with better education/healthcare then it can truly become developed.


If it can't , it will always be a third world country
 
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I've noticed that Bangladeshis seem to be more humble and hardworking than Indians too. I wonder why?

Well difficult to say - I'd attribute this to the honesty and hardworking outlook of the people in this area. This area of India was somehow always simple and welcoming to outsiders. Part of the reason why the British started setting up their East India Company HQ here. Some say, we made the British the wealthiest place in Europe at that time, and in return they only exploited us more.

Humility comes from fighting with nature, Bangladesh was and is the land that is battered with bad weather and cyclones in most years, until we decided to tackle it by building storm shelters and satellite warning system. The fight with nature itself, to provide subsistence in agriculture is a factor. And generally, Bangladeshi people are also more of a philosophical bunch.

Out of all the South Asian countries, it seems like Bangladesh is the most successful and intent on replicating the East Asian development model. I really hope they succeed.

Thanks Brother :-)

I believe it is just plain hard work and honest ethics where we don't take shortcuts as a homogenous group of people. You will see that Bangladesh people are their own sharpest critics.

We are also happy and lucky to have well-intentioned business and civic leaders to lead us. The political leaders we are not proud of, but as long as they stay out of the way, no issues.

I have a soft spot for village farmers who work long hours for days on end, on rain and shine, stepping on wet mud, on hungry stomachs just to support their families.

I am also proud of the millions of apparel worker women who work for eighteen hour shifts (and seven day weeks) sewing clothes with nary a complaint for barely subsistence wages, just to build a future. Some have gone on to university education, some even to Princeton and Harvard. But most work just to support their families, Even extended families.

Most apparel factories in Bangladesh are run in three shifts (24 hrs.), the work almost never stops.

It is their sacrifice, that made and will make our country better. There will be no shortcuts other than hard work. You have to give hard working people their rightful dues, at least in word if not deed.
 
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There is no alternative other than having China as a development partner.

India could have done this too, but oh well, to each country their own.

China can move all their sunset industries to Bangladesh where entrepreneurs will be too eager to oblige and have entirely different and more productive work ethic than in India. I should know - I am in close relationship with many Dhaka chamber members and industrialists.

In any case, industrial diversification in Bangladesh is much stronger in Bangladesh right now than more than a decade ago. We manufacture most of our motorcycles and a lot of appliances/cellphones/electronics locally nowadays. May be small potatoes compared to China, but you have to start somewhere and can't stay with apparel all your life.

One good indicator is the number of flights between Dhaka and closer Chinese cities such as Kunming and Shenzhen/HK. I hear traffic has increased tenfold.

Chinese investors are visiting even remote Bangladesh towns.

And of course Chinese are involved in many, many mega projects in Bangladesh, such as power projects, large bridges etc.

Just look at the infra-development thread brother,


tell us who is going to buy your products. i will give a hint - it is not China
 
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tell us who is going to buy your products. i will give a hint - it is not China

Developing countries people. Chinese prices are getting too high and wages have increased too much to become forever competitive like in the past. The value of currency also cannot forever become pushed down by the government as living costs increase so fast in China.

China's one child policy in the past and continuing preference for one or maybe two children means the population will become smaller and the government's plan is to move into the higher sectors for example producing more expensive goods such as TVs the competition is similar in some places but developing countries who want to become manufacturing ones will start from servicing developing countries economies and prices. In this area China will become less and less competitive until it is totally not and will lose a lot of those industries to Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia and India.
 
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Developing countries people. Chinese prices are getting too high and wages have increased too much to become forever competitive like in the past. The value of currency also cannot forever become pushed down by the government as living costs increase so fast in China.

China's one child policy in the past and continuing preference for one or maybe two children means the population will become smaller and the government's plan is to move into the higher sectors for example producing more expensive goods such as TVs the competition is similar in some places but developing countries who want to become manufacturing ones will start from servicing developing countries economies and prices. In this area China will become less and less competitive until it is totally not and will lose a lot of those industries to Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia and India.

there is something called robotics which will take care of that
 
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there is something called robotics which will take care of that

China is extremely automated yet there still is a great need for workers. There's some things that robots are too expensive for because they need to work in corrosive environments that require high flexibility, but you only need to pay someone a few USD per hour to do.
 
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Eh I see minimal difference between a Bangaldeshi and an Indian , Bangaldesh wants to follow a East Asian model like for ex Taiwan or South Korea but again judging by its massive levels of corruption and brain drain Bangaldeshs future is a 50/50.

Bangladeshis are hardworking but it's not hardwork that makes a nation succeed alone it's also smart work. Sadly Bangaldesh education system sucks and it suffers from brain drain.

If Bangaldesh can stop most corruption and empower the youth and along with better education/healthcare then it can truly become developed.


If it can't , it will always be a third world country
I see a future where we reach Malaysia level of development but then are stuck and can’t grow anymore for the reason you gave
 
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I see a future where we reach Malaysia level of development but then are stuck and can’t grow anymore for the reason you gave


Malaysia is well on the way to become fully industrialised by 2030.

Malaysia GDP per capita $29,700 GDP growing at 4-5% a year

South Korea GDP per capita $44,000 GDP growing at 2-3% a year.

BD is doing just fine economically and if you look for faults you will find it. A lot of the issues mentioned will simply go away as the country gets richer, has better education and infrastructure over the next 1-2 decades.
 
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