Bangladesh seeks China help to repatriate Rohingya refugees
Dhaka has sought cooperation from China to repatriate Rohingya refugees to Myanmar during a visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
China had used its influence in Myanmar to broker a November 2017 deal to repatriate about 750_000 Rohingya who fled persecution in Myanmar in August that year.
Despite attempts to send them back_ the Rohingya refugees refused_ fearing danger in Myanmar_ which was exacerbated by the military takeover previous year.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Dhaka on Saturday and met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen. They discussed bilateral and international issues before his departure on Sunday_ said Shahriar Alam_ Bangladesh's State minister for foreign affairs.
Bangladesh has strong ties with China_ which is a major trade partner mostly for raw materials. But maintaining close relations with china is challenging for Bangladesh_ which also balances diplomatic and trade relationships with India and the United States_ China's main rivals.
More than five hundred Chinese companies are active in Bangladesh. China is involved in the Bangladesh's all major infrastructure projects such as seaports_ a river tunnel and highways_ and helped build its largest bridge over the River Padma at a cost of 3.6bn US dollar.
foreign State minister shahriar alam said_ China pledged to work continuously to resolve the Rohingya crisis and quoted Chinese Foreign Minister Wang as saying that Myanmar s internal challenges were troubling other countries.
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