China backs Hasina-led Bangladesh gov't over US sanctions

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA(AA) – China on Wednesday threw its weight behind the Sheikh Hasina-led government of Bangladesh over US sanctions and a new visa policy, which aim to pressure the South Asian country for "free, fair and independent" elections.

“We firmly support Bangladesh in safeguarding its sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, keeping domestic and foreign policies independent, and pursuing a development path that suits its national realities,” said Wang Wenbin, spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry.

Wang told reporters in Beijing, according to a transcript released by the ministry, that Hasina spoke not just the position of the Bangladeshi people, but also the mind of a large part of the international community, especially the developing world.

He said that Beijing stands ready to work together with Bangladesh and other countries to oppose all forms of "hegemonism and power politics, uphold the UN-centered international system, the international order underpinned by international law and the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN charter with a shared future for mankind."

“Indeed, while turning a blind eye to its own racial discrimination, gun violence, drug proliferation, and other domestic problems, a certain country has long been interfering in the internal affairs of Bangladesh and many other developing countries under the pretext of democracy and human rights,” he went on to say in a thinly-veiled reference to the US.

Early this month, Hasina at a public rally in the capital Dhaka criticized the US government for interfering in Bangladesh’s internal affairs.

She came down heavily on US sanctions and a new visa policy against Bangladesh which will restrict visas to Bangladeshi citizens who will be found opposing the democratic or electoral process or create obstacles to the people’s rights to hold peaceful assembly.

“There is no point worrying about who will not give us visas or who will impose sanctions on us. It doesn't matter if we don't go to the US after a 20-hour plane journey crossing the Atlantic Ocean. There are many other oceans and continents in the world,” she added.

*Najmus Sakib contributed to the story from Bangladesh