On March 17, Bangladesh kicked off its 10-day series of celebrations of the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the golden jubilee of the country’s independence. As a good friend of Bangladesh, China would definitely not be absent from such an event. Chinese President HE Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory video message, and extended, on behalf of the government and people of China, cordial greetings and best wishes to President Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and the government and people of Bangladesh. This congratulatory video message bears special significance as it was the first time that President Xi ever recorded such a video for another country’s domestic programme. It shows the great importance attached by President Xi himself to Bangladesh and China-Bangladesh relations.
As President Xi has pointed out, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was an old and good friend of the Chinese people. He visited China twice in 1952 and 1957 and forged great friendships with Chairman Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai, and other Chinese leaders of the elder generation. The seed of China-Bangladesh friendship had been planted by the veteran leaders of the two countries long before diplomatic ties were established.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is also no stranger to me. Since I assumed my duty as the Chinese Ambassador in Dhaka, I heard many touching stories about Bangabandhu, a great hero in Bangladeshi history and the founder and architect of Bangladesh. He dedicated his whole life to the welfare of the Bangladeshi people even since his early childhood, and often gave away his personal effects to the people in need. He sacrificed his own life in the service of his beloved people and country. It is said that even after more than a half-century, a senior Bangladeshi lady can still remember every detail when she performed for Bangabandhu as a little girl. Indeed, Bangabandhu is fondly remembered by the people in Bangladesh to this day. The “Sonar Bangla” he envisioned is still galvanising the Bangladeshi people in their pursuit of national rejuvenation.
A few days ago, I handed over a bronze bust of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to Her Excellency Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a special gift from the Chinese Embassy for the auspicious occasion of the celebration of his birth centenary. During the meeting, the Honourable Prime Minister gifted me a book written by Bangabandhu, “The new China I Saw”. It is compiled based on Bangabandhu’s diary about his visit to China. After reading this book, I had a deep understanding of what the Honourable Prime Minister had mentioned to me several times on that day: Bangabandhu’s many visions about China now have come true.
I was honoured to attend the grand event on March 17. President Xi said in his congratulatory video message that, “Do not forget who dug the well when drinking water from it.” It described Bangabandhu’s contributions to the China-Bangladesh friendship, and did impress me a lot. President Xi stressed, “now it is our sacred duty to pass on the baton to future generations.” The Honourable Prime Minister also echoed positively to his speech.
Only friendships built on sincerity can last long. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 46 years ago, China has always regarded Bangladesh as its true friend and partner for development. China highly values its relations with Bangladesh. We firmly support each other on issues concerning our core interests. Recently, the two countries have been focusing on fighting against Covid-19, and China is ready to offer Bangladesh 500 thousand doses of Covid-19 vaccines as a gift, implementing the idea of building a community with a shared future for humanity.
As Prime Minister Hasina said at the event, Bangladesh should move forward further which is to make Bangladesh a developed and prosperous country by 2041. “Mujib Borsho” and the golden jubilee of the independence of Bangladesh is a new beginning of its “2041 Vision”. 2021 is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and the first year of the “14th Five-Year Plan”. Just a few days ago, the Fourth Session of the 13th National People’s Congress of China had just voted through the 14th Five-Year Plan and the Outline of Long-term Goals for 2035. At present, both China and Bangladesh are standing at a new historical starting point, and we can go for a bright future together on the basis of traditional friendship.
China and Bangladesh are good partners in fighting the epidemic, in resuming work and production, and in national rejuvenation. China is willing to work with Bangladesh to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, promote the construction of a China-Bangladesh community of shared future and China-Bangladesh health community. China is also willing to work with Bangladesh to strengthen high-level exchanges and jointly build the “Belt and Road” cooperation, implement more projects that benefit people’s livelihoods, and build the foundation of China-Bangladesh friendship. Let our two countries work hand in hand, based on the solid friendship built by our predecessors, to realise our goals.
HE Mr Li Jiming is Ambassador of China to Bangladesh.
