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Coronavirus

China urges Ctg Customs' efficient goods clearance

Friday, 14 February 2020


China has called on Chittagong Customs to ensure efficient customs clearance facilitation for imports from China and safety of export inspection and quarantine of goods to promote bilateral trade in this "emergency" period, reports UNB.
"We hope that both sides will continue to maintain sound trade exchanges in goods and services," said the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka in a media release urging the Bangladeshi businessmen to believe in China.
Over the years, as Bangladesh's largest trading partner, China has provided Bangladesh with stable sources of raw materials and various commodities of high quality and low price, giving important material support for Bangladesh's economic development, said the embassy.
The Chinese government said they believe that China will remain Bangladesh's most reliable trading partner in future.
China hoped that people in Bangladesh would not panic but calmly and rationally evaluate the risk, follow the guidelines of health professional authorities such as WHO, avoid overreaction and not follow rumours.
"There is a saying in China which goes that 'the rumor ends with the wise'. We believe that the people of Bangladesh are the wise," the embassy said.
The Embassy also said as a responsible major country, China has taken stringent measures of control such as suspension of international tour groups, temperature screening at exit points, requiring outbound passengers to fill out and sign health declaration forms, and has made every effort to prevent the virus from spreading beyond China.
The Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh conducted a statistical screening of the health condition of Chinese nationals in Bangladesh soon after the outbreak, and no suspected or confirmed cases have so far been identified.
The Embassy has already issued notices to Chinese citizens and organisations to minimise their travel between China and Bangladesh in the next few weeks.
"We hope that Bangladesh can support and understand us, as always, in this battle against the epidemic, which China has all the confidence and capability to win," said the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka.
In a highly responsible manner, China has done a lot to ensure the health and safety of the Bangladeshi expatriates in China, and has always maintained communication with the Bangladeshi side to update the development of the epidemic and China's prevention and control efforts, it said.
Understanding the concerns of the families and friends of some of the Bangladeshi nationals in Wuhan, the Chinese embassy said they agreed to let Bangladesh bring back its citizens.
"We are told the returnees are now in quarantine and we sincerely hope for the best for them. So far, no Bangladeshi national in China or Bangladesh has been infected with the virus," it said.
"We will not forget that the SARS epidemic raged in 2003, but we survived it and came out with a strengthened health system and booming national development," said the Chinese Embassy adding that they are fully capable, confident and resourceful to overcome any difficulty during curbing the epidemic with the shortest time of period, and to reassure the public health and security of our people and the world at large."
The number of Chinese enterprises in Bangladesh is huge, and the scope of engineering projects is diversified, which have been affected by the epidemic to varying degrees, said the embassy.
Bangladesh has stopped issuing visas on arrival to Chinese citizens, resulting in delay in the return or assignment of some of the design management and construction personnel to the projects, which will have a great negative impact on the projects' design and construction progress, said the embassy.
None of the returnees can return to work in the Padma Bridge project on schedule.
Some of them are professional technicians and skilled workers on key construction lines, which will have a great negative impact on the construction progress of the whole bridge.
About 300 Chinese are unable to return to work on Payra project site in time for this project.
Professional technical personnel or management personnel are among them.
At present, the project is at a critical stage of execution, and the absence of Chinese personnel will have a certain impact on the safety, quality, technology and progress of project execution.
The Chinese company, which is responsible for the Feasibility Study for Construction of Circular Rail Line around Dhaka City Project, is located in Wuhan City, the worst-hit area of this outbreak.
The company cannot send staff to Bangladesh as planned to carry out work.
Affected by the outbreak, the domestic technical team of the construction of shore protection in two lots in Bhasanchar Island could not arrive in Bangladesh on time, and the technical and commercial bid negotiation related to the early stage of the project was hindered, which has a direct impact on whether the project could be negotiated and awarded on time.