Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during his visit to the nation and the two leaders agreed to upgrade bilateral ties to a strategic partnership of cooperation.

“China highly values its friendly cooperative ties with Bangladesh and will continue to offer support within its capacity for the economic and social development of the South Asian country,” Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying. Noting that China is striving for its ‘two centenary goals’ and Bangladesh is pursuing its ‘Sonar Bangla’ dream, Xi added that the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative can dovetail with Bangladesh’s cooperation strategies with the world.