After telling Bangladesh not to join Quad, China now urges it to shun bloc politics
BEIJING: China has told Bangladesh to stay independent and reject bloc politics, a year after publicly asking Dhaka not to join the Quad alliance comprising India, the US, Japan and Australia. “China believes that countries in the region, including Bangladesh, will bear in mind the fundamental interests of their own countries and the region, uphold independence, reject the Cold War mentality and bloc politics,” Liu Jinsong, director-general of the department of Asian affairs of the Chinese foreign ministry, told Bangladeshi ambassador to China Mahbub Uz Zaman on Wednesday.
The regional countries should safeguard true multilateralism and defend the hardwon environment for peace and development in the region, Liu told Zaman during their meeting in Beijing, according to a press release issued by the foreign ministry.
In May last year, China’s ambassador to Bangladeshi Li Jiming in Dhaka courted controversy by publicly asking Bangladesh not to join the Quad alliance. “Obviously, it will not be a good idea for Bangladesh to participate in this small club of four (Quad) because it will substantially damage our bilateral relationship,” Li had said in Dhaka. Reacting to Li’s comments, Bangladesh foreign minister AK Abdul Momen had called the Chinese envoy’s comments “very unfortunate” and “aggressive”. “We are an independent and sovereign state. We decide our foreign policy,” Momen had said at the time.
China has been opposing Quad projecting it as Asian Nato aimed at containing its rise. In his meeting with Zaman in Beijing, Liu attacked the recent speech by US secretary of state Antony Blinken in which he said China is the only country with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do it.
Unveiling Biden administration’s China policy, last Thursday, Blinken had called China “the most serious long-term challenge to the international order”. He had said the US, while stepping up competition with “invest, align, compete” strategy, will, avoid conflict or new Cold War with China.
Liu said the “three-point approach” put forward by Blinken on China reflects serious deviations in the US’ view of the world and view of Beijing and China-US relations.
Artmotion China