Bangladesh, China plan to boost bilateral ties

Bangladesh and China plan to take their 'strategic partnership' to a new height when prime minister Sheikh Hasina visits the country next month.

Beijing has invited prime minister Hasina to pay an official visit from 1-5 July, a senior official in Dhaka told UNB, saying that both sides are finalising things for the important visit.

The Chinese government also invited the prime minister to attend annual meeting of the "New Champions" which is known as "Summer Davos" to be held in Dalian on 1-3 July.

It will be Sheikh Hasina's first bilateral visit to Beijing following her party's overwhelming victory in the last parliamentary election, held on 30 December 2018.

She will have meetings with president Xi and prime minister Li Keqiang and discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in broader areas. A good number of bilateral documents are likely to be signed during the visit.

Prime minister Hasina is expected to have an exclusive meeting on 2 July with the founder and executive chairman of World Economic Forum (WEF) professor Klaus Schwab in Dalian, said an official.

She is also expected to be a panellist at a session on Cooperation in the Pacific Rim at the WEF Dalian.

Beijing has already placed five specific suggestions for deepening Bangladesh-China strategic partnership of cooperation with an emphasis on intensifying 'strategic mutual trust'.

"First, we need to deepen strategic mutual trust and then we need to deepen economic integration," Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Zhang Zuo said at Cosmos Dialogue recently.

Other suggestions put forward by him were to deepen innovation and interaction, have stronger cooperation on experience sharing on security, and deepen cultural and people's connectivity.

He said that China wants to join hands with Bangladesh to become good partners with equality and mutual trust.

Summer Davos, themed 'Leadership 4.0: Succeeding in a New Era of Globalisation', is bringing together leaders from every sector and every part of the world to discuss how to cooperate on the challenges ahead.

Activities have been designed to provide Chinese cultural experiences at the programme in Liaoning Province, according to the city's authorities responsible for the coordination of the event.

The "Dalian Night" will feature performances by well-known performing groups, including folk dances, acrobatics, Peking Opera, ballet and folk music.

The event venue and parts of Dalian will be covered with 5G signals, allowing participants to enjoy the convenience brought by 5G services and experience 5G technologies-supported applications like panoramic VR, and 5G plus 4K ultra-high definition television.

Globalisation 4.0 represents fundamental changes in the global economy that are reshaping companies, communities and countries at an unprecedented speed and scale.

These changes are driven by environmental challenges, regional competition, economic disparities and technological disruption. They, in turn, require different forms of leadership and collaboration adapted to this new era of globalisation.

Platform strategies and systems leadership are key business concepts behind the sweeping technological changes propelling the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Leadership 4.0 requires an understanding of how new champions that are gaining economic influence are disrupting and transforming current industry models.

WEF engages leaders who have the vision and values to shape the future in this new context.

The Annual Meeting of the New Champions is designed as the foremost global summit on innovation and entrepreneurship with more than 1,500 participants, 100 working sessions and community activities, along with the opportunity to engage in several new forum initiatives.