Minister of Commerce Tipu Munshi has said that there is no alternative to increasing exports to reduce the trade gap with China. He said that China is a huge market for products. There is an opportunity to export many products of Bangladesh to the Chinese market, we have to take advantage of this opportunity. Bangladesh is exporting readymade garments to the United States, European Union, and other countries, China has a market several times bigger than that.
He said this while addressing the seminar titled ‘Making the Most of Market Access in China: What Needs to be Done’, arranged by Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID) and the Bangladesh China Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Pan-Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka on Sunday (12 June) as the chief guest.
‘We have to import various products from China, including industrial equipment and raw materials, but we cannot export that amount to China,’ he said. ‘That is why our trade gap with China is so wide. We shouldn’t just rely on ready-made garments. The trade gap needs to be reduced by producing other export products and exporting them to China. In the last 2020-2021 fiscal year, we exported goods worth USD 680.65 million to China, while imports from China amounted to about USD 13 billion.’
The Minister of Commerce said, ‘We have continued our efforts to reduce this huge trade gap. China is providing us with a duty-free facility on about 98% of the export of goods. Bangladesh is graduating from LDC in 2026. Bangladesh hopes that China will extend this trade facility for another three years till 2029. After LDC graduation, Bangladesh will take advantage of trade benefits by signing trade agreements like FTA or PTA with different countries. Bangladesh has already signed MOU with China. A feasibility study is underway by forming a joint working group. We can have a trade agreement with China considering all aspects.’
The Minister of Commerce further said that there is a lot of Chinese investment in Bangladesh and this investment can be further increased. Bangladesh has a large number of educated and skilled manpower. China can relocate industrial factories to Bangladesh and produce goods at low cost and export them to other countries. An opportunity has been created to invest in the Special Economic Zone of Bangladesh. Apart from readymade garments, Bangladesh has also undertaken wide-ranging activities to increase exports of jute products, leather and leather products, plastic products, light engineering, and ICT products. Exports of all these sectors are increasing. If exports increase in all these sectors, as the country’s export earnings increase, the trade gap with China will decrease.
President of Bangladesh China Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCCI) Gazi Golam Murtaza presided over the function while Chinese Ambassador to Dhaka Li Jiming and Vice Chairman of Export Promotion Bureau AHM Ahsan spoke as special guests. BCCCI Acting Secretary-General Al Mamun Mridha gave the welcome address on the occasion.
