China likes to see its companies and investors make investment in Bangladesh in a bigger way availing of the advantage of the current stable situation and healthy investment climate in the country. We see changes taking place in the country. Ive already told Chinese companies to do it (make investment) now if you want to do it. This is the high time for them to come and do it, said Chinese Ambassador Chai Xi, appreciating the current anticorruption drive under the interim regime and improvement of law and order in Bangladesh.

In an interview with the news agency at the Chinese embassy, he said China always considers Bangladesh not only a neighbouring country but also one of the best neighbours in all considerations. Asked about a huge trade deficit against Bangladesh, the ambassador admitted the imbalance and said the Chinese government is paying attention to this problem and taking a number of measures to narrow the gap. China with a boomtime with its economy growing at the fastest pace in the present world has already granted tariff reduction for 156 Bangladeshi export items. Of them, 84 get dutyfree access to the Chinese market under the Bangkok Agreement, he said.

The Ambassador said every year the Chinese government sends trade delegation to buy Bangladeshi exports like jute and leather with government subsidy as a step towards bridging the trade gap. In 200506, Bangladesh imported from China goods worth US $ 2045 million ($ 2.05 billion) while exports fetched only a paltry amount of US $ 64.35 million, leaving a trade imbalance worth $1981.05 million. Asked about the Chinese investment in Bangladesh, he said many Chinese investors are ready to come to this country to make investment in different promising sectors, including textiles, but instability and bureaucratic tangles discouraged them in the past.