Exclusive interview with Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina in Beijing
By Liu Yang, Ma Wei, An Kun
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05:23

She settled in a chair next to a framed picture of her father, whom she says was the inspiration to pursue the path of politics.

Sheikh Hasina was included in the Time Magazine's list of 100 most influential people of 2018, and the Bangladeshi prime minister is carrying on the legacy of her father – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. He is the nation's founding father.

According to official documents, in 1975, her parents, brothers and scores of relatives were brutally assassinated by misguided members of the military soon after the independence of Bangladesh. Sheikh Hasina and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana were the only survivors as they were in West Germany at the time.

Later she moved to the United Kingdom where she launched her movement against the autocratic rule in 1980. A year later, Sheikh Hasina was unanimously elected president of Bangladesh Awami League in absentia while living in New Delhi. She returned home finally on May 17, 1981 ending six years in exile.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (L) speaks with CGTN reporter Liu Yang in Beijing, July 3, 2019. /CGTN Photo

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (L) speaks with CGTN reporter Liu Yang in Beijing, July 3, 2019. /CGTN Photo

She told me that after three years of living in pain over the loss of almost the entirety of her family members, she decided to do something to develop the country – that was her father's dream.

"Every time I was trying to think of what my father did, I read his diary. That was my inspiration. My father always thought about the people, because our people were so poor. Over 90 percent of people were living in poverty, and my father devoted himself for the cause of those people," she told me.

She added: "He knew how people were suffering. From our childhood, he always told us of the suffering of our people, and how he wanted to give them a better life. We learned from him to love the country, and to love the people and the responsibility [that comes with it]. My father also told me to work for the people and to sacrifice yourself to the people. When you can do something and people are satisfied, it's really important. China has definitely shown the way, I am really happy to be here, I congratulate the Chinese people."

I said to her "You are very popular in Bangladesh and you are a powerful woman." She answered in the most humble way. "Well, I feel that I have to serve my people, but of course, our people love me. As you know I lost all my family members except my sister, but the people are really my family, and they are the closest to me. I think I have only one job, to give my people a better life. A poverty-free hunger-free prosperous life."

Her goal is to make Bangladesh a sustainable country to realize the Golden Bangladesh dream of her father.

Poverty levels in Bangladesh have decreased significantly, hovering around 21 percent at present. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, poverty rates stood at 40 percent in 2005. But the prime minister is targeting 16 percent by 2024.

The literacy rate in the country has also advanced, reaching an all-time high of 72.9 percent last year, up from 46.66 percent in 2007.

Workers in Bangladesh. /VCG Photo

Workers in Bangladesh. /VCG Photo

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1975, China and Bangladesh have been good neighbors, friends and partners.

In 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Bangladesh and made investment proposals worth 24.5 billion U.S. dollars. Bangladesh is an important cooperative partner of China in South Asia as well as an integral part of the Belt and Road framework.

During her official visit to China from July 3 to 5, the two sides committed to discussing a feasibility study for a free trade agreement, expanding imports of products from Bangladesh that meet the needs of the Chinese market, promoting a balanced development of bilateral trade and facilitating investment and personnel exchanges. 

China would like to align the Belt and Road Initiative with Bangladesh's development strategy. In a meeting with President Xi on Friday, the prime minister said Bangladesh is willing to promote cooperation in trade, investment, the service industry, and infrastructure building.  

She told me that the world has become a global village, so we cannot go alone, we need to go together. What's more important is how to go together, solve problems together and give people a better life.

She first visited China in 1996. Her father also visited China, first in 1952 for a peace conference, and in 1957 again.

Hasina praised China for working hard to become the world's second-largest economy, and said there's a lot to learn from China.

She said China is Bangladesh's friend and development partner, and expressed appreciation to Premier Li Keqiang inviting her to visit China.

She emphasized the importance of connectivity, saying "China is really helping with collaboration. Many Chinese companies are constructing many of our important projects. It is important for Bangladesh to establish connectivity to all of our neighboring countries. We have signed the agreement Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor that will open the door to increasing our trade, business, and communication. For economic development, it is very important. We are also planning and developing communication for a trans-Asian highway and railway."

Of the relations between China and Bangladesh, she said that one neighbor is developing fast and the other is receiving the fruits of this progress.

"I feel very satisfied, a different satisfaction. My neighbor is developing so much, we can learn from them and also we can work together. Frankly speaking, when China was reborn 70 years ago, you cannot imagine what the situation was at that time, but within the short period of time, China developed, now China has become the second largest economy in the world, so you must be proud of this," she told me.

"It is an extraordinary achievement, I must say."