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China still concerned at Taiwan's trade office

UNB, Beijing
A top Chinese government minister has voiced concern about Taiwan trying to set up a trade office in Bangladesh-- a move he said is designed to destroy the Dhaka-Beijing friendly relations.
"This is a political plot hatched by Taiwan... Taiwan is seeking political agenda in the guise of economic and trading agenda," Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the news agency.
The Chinese anxiety about Bangladesh giving Taiwan the permission to open any office in Dhaka was vented by the senior-most minister at an exclusive interview in Beijing with UNB Chief Editor Enayetullah Khan during his visit to China recently.
Wang warned that the Taiwanese authorities were out to seek a "political breakthrough" in Bangladesh by setting up the so-called trade office. "They are trying to politically use Bangladesh," he observed.
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The Chinese position on this venture is very clear, Wang said, adding, "We don't like to see any country which has diplomatic relations with China to allow Taiwan to set up any representative office in that country."
Wang observed that "the issue is always a complicated factor in China's relations with countries that are courting Taiwan^China opposes such dealings".
Especially against the backdrop of current political situation in Taiwan, and taking into account the national sentiment and sovereignty of China, Wang Yi hoped, "The Bangladesh government and people will make a correct choice on the issue and take a decisive action in this regard."
The Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister went on to explain that his country never opposed trading and business between Bangladesh and Taiwan and unofficially, he pointed out, private sectors of the two countries were carrying such trade between them.
Without any trade office, he thinks, Bangladesh-Taiwan trade and investment volume came to
nearly $400 million last year. "Even with the establishment of a trade office, the investment may not go up," he observed.
In a rare interview at the Chinese Foreign Affairs Building in Beijing that lasted nearly two hours, Wang focussed on the entire gamut of Bangladesh-China relations. "We have the best of relations between our two countries and China has been pursuing a friendly policy towards Bangladesh".
He mentioned China's economic assistance being provided to Bangladesh, which includes 2.2 billion RMB in Chinese concessional loans. Besides, Chinese private companies have so far invested some $24.15 million in different projects.
But there is a vast scope for further increasing Chinese investment in Bangladesh, he pointed out, adding that the government in Beijing encourages capable Chinese companies to invest over there in a bigger way.
However, there is a trade imbalance between the two countries, and under the framework of Bangkok Agreement, China has already offered trade concessions to Bangladesh. Currently, the twoway trade is worth $1.4 billion, indicating a 30 percent year-on-year increase during last year.