Bangladesh asks China for help in repatriating Rohingya refugees

Bangladesh minister says China has pledged to work continuously to resolve the Rohingya crisis.

Bangladesh 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 agreement to repatriate about 700,000 Rohingya who fled persecution in Myanmar in August that year.

Despite attempts to send them back, the refugees refused, fearing danger in Myanmar, which was exacerbated by the military takeover last year.

Wang arrived in Dhaka on Saturday and met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen. They discussed bilateral and global issues before his departure on Sunday, said Shahriar Alam, Bangladesh’s junior minister for foreign affairs.

Bangladesh has strong relations with China, which is a major trade partner mostly for raw materials. But maintaining close ties with Beijing is challenging for Bangladesh, which also balances diplomatic and trade relationships with India and the United States, China’s main rivals.

More than 500 Chinese companies are active in Bangladesh. China is involved in the country’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.

Amid recent tensions between China and Taiwan, Bangladesh issued a statement reiterating its support for the “one-China” policy.

Agencies