Beijing/Dhaka, Mar 25 (PTI) Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus will start his four-day visit to China on Wednesday during which he is scheduled to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping to reorient bilateral ties after the fall of Sheikh Hasina government.

Yunus' visit to Beijing comes ahead of his request for a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the upcoming BIMSTEC meeting at Bangkok to be held from April 2 to 4. It is yet to be confirmed by India.

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Yunus will begin his China visit by taking part in Boao Forum for Asia, the annual meeting of Beijing's strategic think-tank.

“China welcomes Chief Adviser Yunus to attend the conference in China”, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday. “Let me stress that China and Bangladesh are traditional friendly neighbours and comprehensive strategic cooperative partners”.

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In Dhaka, the Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen told the media that the Chief Adviser's visit to China would be very successful, productive and a milestone visit with some announcements.

“This is going to be the most important visit by a Bangladeshi leader in 50 years,” Yunus' press secretary Shafiqul Alam quoted Yao as saying after his meeting with Yunus on March 16, according to a report by Dhaka Tribune on Sunday.

Yunus will begin his China visit by taking part in Boao Forum for Asia, the annual meeting of Beijing's strategic think-tank, in which leaders and officials besides corporate heads from different countries take part.

Later, he will travel to Beijing and hold talks with Xi on March 28, according to Alam.

Since the fall of Hasina government, China has hosted several delegations including Bangladesh's Adviser for Foreign Affairs of the Interim government Touhid Hossain and hardline Islamic parties such as the hardline Jamaat-e-Islami and opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP).

According to the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), the state run news agency, during Hossain's visit in January this year, China had agreed to extend Bangladesh's loan repayment period, ensure duty-free, quota-free market access for Bangladeshi products, and designate hospitals in Kunming for Bangladeshi patients' treatment, bolstering bilateral ties.

Beijing also agreed to consider Dhaka's request to reduce the interest rate of Chinese loans to Bangladesh.

Dhaka will encourage Chinese companies to relocate their factories to Bangladesh, especially the sunset companies as China faces global trade barriers, the Daily Star reported, quoting Alam as saying.

If these companies manufacture in Bangladesh, they can export without restrictions, he said.

China is Bangladesh's largest trading partner, with the volume being USD 25 billion a year. However, Bangladesh's exports to China amount to less than USD one billion, though China provides Bangladesh with zero-tariff market access, the report said.

The issue of China's proposal to implement the Teesta river management project in phases was expected to come up, according to Bangladesh media reports. India offered to do the project considering the sensitives.

New Delhi will watch his visit besides Washington as Dhaka wants Chinese industries to shift to Bangladesh to take advantage of lower tariffs it enjoys in key markets.

Last July, Hasina visited China, a month after which she was ousted from power in a massive students' agitation and fled to India.

During her visit, the two countries had elevated their ties to a “comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership”, signifying the importance China attaches to ties with Dhaka and signed 21 agreements.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)