China to set up trade centre as delegation due today

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China is going to finance the setting up of a trade centre in Bangladesh under an agreement to be signed during the visit of a Chinese official delegation coming in the city today (Saturday), reports UNB.
The delegation, led by Assistant Minister for Commerce Wang Chao, is coming with trade and investment high on their agenda. A high-power business delegation will accompany him.
Officials here told the news agency that the Chinese delegation would explore ways of reducing the yawning trade gap between Dhaka and Beijing, particularly by phasing more products from here into their market.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed to set up the planned trade centre with Chinese government assistance.
The two-way trade stood at US$ 3.20 billion in 2006, with the balance heavily tilted towards China. Last year China's export to Bangladesh was worth over $3.0 billion against Bangladesh's insignificant export amounting only to about US$ 98 million.
China earlier has offered zero-tariff treatment to 84 categories of Bangladeshi products under the Bangkok agreement on trade.
On the huge trade imbalance, Chinese Ambassador Zheng Qingdian observed that his government had taken the issue of trade imbalance with Bangladesh seriously and had made substantial effort to solve the problem.
"We have taken combined measures to expand imports from Bangladesh, including sending purchasing missions to Bangladesh and providing government subsidies," he told the agency in an interview recently.
Qingdian mentioned that his country has granted tariff-free access to 84 items and preferential tariff treatment to 156 other items of Bangladesh commodities within the framework of the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (AFTA).
"More tariff-reduction plans are on the way, and we will do that. Besides, we will encourage more Chinese enterprises to come to invest in Bangladesh."
The ambassador said the Chinese companies have already made a lot of investment in power, textile, telecommunications as well as many private sectors in Bangladesh.
"The rising manufacturing industries in Bangladesh are attracting Chinese investors to this country. And the Chinese government is keen to see such investment to be mutually beneficial to both Bangladeshi and Chinese people," he said.
The Chinese Assistant Minister Wang Chao is likely to call on Finance and Commerce Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam and hold meetings with Commerce and Economic Relations Division (ERD) secretaries.