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It was a particular pleasure, on the evening of 23 September, to welcome so many distinguished guests and friends -- among them Hon'ble Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan and Hon'ble Leader of the Opposition and Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Dr Shafiqur Rahman -- to the Sheraton Hotel in Dhaka, where the Chinese Embassy gathered to mark the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Seventy-seven years of weathering storms; seventy-seven years of forging ahead. Since the Republic’s founding, the Chinese people, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, have charted a path of modernisation suited to their own national conditions. In the first half of this year, China's economy grew by 4.7%, holding its course despite international energy shortages and disruption to industrial and supply chains — providing, I would venture, a measure of certainty in an uncertain world. As the largest developing country and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has sought consistently to act as a responsible major power: upholding the UN-centred international system, and advancing the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilisation Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative, in the hope of contributing something useful to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
This year also marks the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, which has grown into the world's largest governing party. Sustained by the support of the people, it has opened a path towards the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and produced what might fairly be called two minor miracles: rapid economic growth alongside enduring social stability. A party capable of self-purification, self-improvement and self-renewal is now leading the Chinese people of all ethnic groups towards the Second Centenary Goal.
Closer to home, this year marks the 51st anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Bangladesh, and the 10th anniversary of our Belt and Road cooperation. China supports the new Bangladeshi government in the exercise of its mandate, supports Bangladesh in safeguarding its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and opposes any external interference — while encouraging Bangladesh to play a fuller role in regional and international affairs. This year, the Hon'ble Prime Minister Tarique Rahman paid his first visit to China, during which our two countries elevated bilateral relations to a China-Bangladesh community with a shared future in the new era. China-Bangladesh relations, I believe, now stand at their best point in history; this friendship serves the fundamental interests of both our countries and both our peoples, and no storm, I am confident, will hold back its forward march.
Looking back now fills me with no small emotion. I have served in Bangladesh for three years and nine months, and in a few days I shall bid farewell to this post. I do so with genuine reluctance.
Over these three years I have watched Bangladesh's political transformation unfold, and witnessed the historic choices this nation has made at a critical juncture. I have come to admire greatly the resilience and national dignity the Bangladeshi people have shown as they set out, under the Hon'ble Prime Minister's leadership, on a new path of reform and development.
I have also walked, more times than I can count, through the streets and alleys of Dhaka — and what has struck me most is the optimism and drive of Bangladesh's young people. Young people are a nation's most precious asset and its future; I remain, for that reason, fully confident of a bright tomorrow for this country.
I have, too, watched this land transform with remarkable speed. Wherever I went, warm greetings and sincere smiles conveyed to me the depth of feeling the Bangladeshi people hold for the Chinese people. And I have made, along the way, a good many Bangladeshi friends — evenings of honest conversation, days spent walking side by side. That friendship I shall treasure always.
I believe firmly that the future of China-Bangladesh relations will grow brighter still, and that the road of our cooperation will only widen. May the friendship between our two countries remain evergreen. May both nations prosper, and both our peoples know happiness and well-being.
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The writer is ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Bangladesh