Bangladesh eyes Yunnan as gateway to expand exports to China

Bangladesh has significant scope to expand its exports to China's Yunnan province by leveraging geographical proximity, Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir said on Sunday.

"The proposed free bonded warehouses and exhibition facilities must be made operational quickly to ease the entry of Bangladeshi products into the market of nearly 46.4 million people," the commerce minister said while meeting a high-level Yunnan delegation at the Ministry of Commerce conference room in Dhaka.

The delegation was led by Yunnan Executive Vice Governor Zhao Junmin.

Calling for deeper cooperation in trade, investment, agriculture, energy and technology between Bangladesh and Yunnan, Muktadir said establishing an effective road link of about 1,200 kilometres from Chattogram through Myanmar to Kunming could enable goods transport within roughly 24 hours.

This would cut transport costs while making regional trade and supply chains between Bangladesh, Myanmar and southwest China more dynamic, he added.

The meeting was told that bilateral trade between Yunnan and Bangladesh crossed 1.3 billion yuan in 2025, reflecting recent progress between the two regions.

Zhao Junmin said Bangladesh is the first South Asian country to come under Yunnan's special trade facilitation policy, under which bonded warehouses, exhibition centres and customs facilities are being arranged for Bangladeshi products and will be operational soon.

He said a venue in Yunnan has been selected to showcase Bangladeshi goods, following a memorandum of understanding signed between Yunnan's trade department and Bangladesh's Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), and urged Bangladeshi entrepreneurs to move quickly to make use of the opportunity.

The meeting also emphasised expanding direct cargo flight connectivity. Discussions covered the potential for Bangladesh to export jute and jute goods, leather products, frozen fish, fruit and other agricultural items to Yunnan, while importing flowers, fertiliser and animal feed.

Participants noted that a direct cargo air link with northeastern Bangladesh in particular would open new opportunities for trade in perishable agricultural goods.

Muktadir proposed setting up a joint research centre to improve the quality and productivity of Bangladeshi jute, and stressed greater cooperation between institutions on both sides in energy, e-commerce and technology.

He also called for expanded Chinese investment in Bangladesh, specifically inviting Yunnan's women entrepreneurs to explore investment opportunities.

Noting that Sylhet's old jail is being converted into a park, the minister sought Yunnan's cooperation in developing a modern park in Sylhet modelled on Kunming's parks.

Zhao Junmin described Bangladesh's proposals as positive and expressed interest in advancing cooperation in trade, investment, connectivity and other promising sectors. -UNB