Chinese Ambassador Featured in Bengali Newspaper

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ma Mingqiang (馬明強) gave a joint media interview published on the front page of one of Bangladesh’s largest Bengali-language newspapers Prothom Alo (প্রথম আলো) on October 1, 2017. The interview covered China-Bangladesh relations following President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) October 2016 state visit, which Ma described as “historic”. During the visit, both countries elevated ties to strategic partnership status and signed over 20 cooperation agreements covering energy, power, maritime affairs, security, and climate change. Ma claimed the visit “brought over 400 million US dollars in investment” and that “Bangladesh will board the express train of China’s economic development.” He outlined cooperation progress under the Belt and Road Initiative, including the China-Bangladesh Friendship Bridge No. 8 (中孟友誼八橋), Payra coal-fired power plant (帕亞拉燃煤電站), and Chittagong Chinese Industrial Park (吉大港中國工業園區). Ma emphasized China’s role as Bangladesh’s largest trading partner, though he incorrectly stated bilateral trade reached $79.8 billion in the first half of 2017—actual full-year 2017 trade was approximately $12 billion. The interview highlighted expanding people-to-people exchanges, including over 1,000 Chinese scholarships for Bangladeshi students and the establishment of a second Confucius Institute at Dhaka University (達卡大學).