Tapping Potential.docVIP

Tapping Potential 　　On October 14 and 15， Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Bangladesh and received a warm welcome. During the trip， Xi met President Abdul Hamid and Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury， Speaker of the nation’s parliament， and held talks with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Some 56 agreements and memorandums of understanding were signed to enhance cooperation on telecommunications， infrastructure， finance and trade. During the visit， leaders of the two sides drew a blueprint for the future of China-Bangladesh ties and agreed to elevate their relationship to a strategic partnership of cooperation. 　　 Long-standing friendship 　　Although located on the eastern part of the Eurasian continent， ancient China never ceased its communication with civilizations on the southern and western sides of the continent， as evidenced by the ancient Silk Road which was open to various cultures. The Southern Silk Road witnessed friendly exchanges between China and Bangladesh. 　　Some scholars believe that the Southern Silk Road and the Silk Road were the two oldest international transport corridors. The former passed Pundravardhana， an ancient territory mainly in what is now Bangladesh. Pundravardhana had frequent and in-depth exchanges with the Chinese civilization， as it was a bridgehead and transfer station between Southeast Asia and the South Asian subcontinent. Bangladesh can be seen as a crucial joint of the Southern Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road. 　　China’s famous 13th-century explorer and diplomat， Zheng He， traveled at least twice to the region where Bangladesh is located today and left detailed written records， adding more evidence to the well-established friendship between the two countries. 　　 Steady progress 　　China and Bangladesh established diplomatic relations on October 4， 1975， and since then， the two countries have seen their friendship grow. 　　As the two countries celebrated the 30th anniversary of the establishment of their diplo