Dhaka: In a bid to woo Bangladesh, China has provided a huge trade boost to the country by announcing tariff exemption for 97% of Bangladeshi products effective from July 1. The decision has come one month after Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a discussion to upgrade their bilateral relations during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh announced that 97% of items would be exempted of Chinese tariffs. As part of the government's economic diplomacy and the outcome of exchange of letters between Bangladesh and China, Tariff Commission of the Chinese State Council issued a notice recently on granting zero treatment to 97% of tariff products of Bangladesh, the Dhaka Tribune reported, quoting the ministry's statement.
With this announcement, a total of 8,256 Bangladeshi products will come under the 97% of products that would be exempted from tariff. Currently, 3,095 Bangladeshi products enjoy duty-free access to Chinese market under Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA). With the new announcement, 97% of Bangladeshi products will join this zero-tariff club from July 1 that raised the numbers of Bangladeshi products with zero duty access to Chinese market to 8,256, the report said.
During the Asian-African Conference which took place this week in Indonesia, Chinese president Xi announced that China will grant duty free market access for Least Developed Countries (LDC) 97% of the tariff lines within a year. This beneficial market access scheme will be applied only for imports from LDCs that have diplomatic relations with China.
China's tariff exemption is expected to help Bangladesh cushion the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beijing reaches out to B’desh with trade sops
New Delhi:
Just when India-China relations suffered a new low following the recent clashes at Galwan Valley in Ladakh, Beijing seems to be aggressively wooing Bangladesh, a strong ally of India in the neighbourhood, with a host of sops.
India-China stand-off at Ladakh has also coincided with Nepal redrawing it map to include some Indian territories, presumable under a nudge from China.
While India is working to retaliate to the border violence by China, which claimed the lives of at least 20 Indian soldiers, through various measures mainly to hurt its economy, Beijing has reached out to Dhaka by offering to waive off 97% tariff on 5,161 items that Bangladesh trades with China.
Dhaka had asked for the waiver from China for being a “less developed country”, and Beijing responded favourably on July 16, ironically a day after the violent Ladakh clashes.
“Tariff Commission of the state council of ministry of finance of the People’s Republic of China issued a notice dated on 16 June on granting zero treatment to 97% of tariff products of Bangladesh. This will come into effect from 1st July,” Bangladesh foreign office said in a statement.
The new list adds to Dhaka’s existing benefit of tarifffree trade on 3095 products with Beijing under the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement.
The development, which could lead to Bejing and Dhaka coming closer, can add to the discomfort of Delhi which sees Bangladesh as a strong ally- an equation built over many years that kept China at a distance.
Indo-Bangla ties though had taken a setback last year over India’s National Register Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Bill, both of which generated some unpleasantness in Dhaka.
