Duty-free access for all products to China from Dec

Bangladesh, along with other least developed countries (LDCs), will enjoy zero-tariff access when exporting any product to China from December 1 this year.

A statement from the Chinese embassy in Dhaka yesterday said its Tariff Commission decided to open its markets for all products from the LDCs having diplomatic relations with China, including 33 countries in Africa.

"This has made China the first major developing country and the first major economy to take such a step," said the statement from the world's second largest economy.

In his keynote address at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation on 5 September this year, President Xi Jinping announced that China will voluntarily and unilaterally open its market wider.

In 2022, China had granted duty-free access to 98 percent of Bangladeshi goods, including 383 new products, especially leather and leather goods.

In 2020, it was for 97 percent of Bangladeshi products.

Bangladesh imported $17.8 billion of goods from the world's second biggest nation and exported $677 million there in fiscal year (FY) 2022-23. The nation imported $20.87 billion of goods  and exported $683 million of products in FY22, showing that bilateral trade is heavily tilted toward China, according to official data.

China is Bangladesh's largest trading partner. It exported products to Bangladesh worth more than $18.6 billion in fiscal year 2022-23, while Bangladesh's exports to China were worth about $676 million.