DCCI urges China's support to boost tech capacity

A bilateral trade discussion between President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) Taskeen Ahmed and Ambassador of China to Bangladesh Yao Wen was held at the Embassy of China in Dhaka on Monday.

During the meeting, the DCCI President mentioned that the total bilateral trade volume between Bangladesh and China reached USD 17.35 billion in FY 2024, where Bangladesh's import and export amount stood at USD 16.64 billion and USD 715.38 million respectively.

He stated that continued sustainable socio-economic development of Bangladesh and harnessing the opportunities of LDC graduation will largely depend on the strengthening of bilateral economic partnership between the two countries. China is Bangladesh's largest import partner, with multifaceted cooperation in infrastructure, energy and power, education, and human resource development, he said.

Taskeen Ahmed called for China's comprehensive cooperation in agriculture and agro-processing, ICT, renewable energy, automobile, light engineering, footwear, logistics, medical equipment and healthcare, API, semiconductors, and shipbuilding sectors. At the same time, he urged China to extend its support in developing skills, capacity, and technological advancement of Bangladeshi entrepreneurs to sustain in global trade competitiveness.

Ambassador Yao Wen said that over 20 new Chinese companies in the RMG and textile sectors have committed nearly USD 800 million in investment in Bangladesh since last year. He also expressed Chinese entrepreneurs' growing interest in investing in the Electronic Vehicle (EV) sector in Bangladesh. He, however, pointed out that high tariffs and lack of supportive policies are hindering investments in this sector.