Hello and welcome to the details of Bangladesh ships first mangoes to China as ties with India sour and now with the details
Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Bangladesh’s Ministry of Commerce advisor Sheikh Bashir Uddin (third from left) and China’s ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen (second from right) inspect mango caskets during a ceremony at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on May 28, 2025. — AFP pic
DHAKA, May 29 — Bangladesh waved off its first consignment of mangoes to China on Wednesday, a largely symbolic export as Beijing sweetens ties after relations soured between Dhaka and former ally and neighbour India.
Bangladesh, still reeling from the political fallout of a 2024 uprising that ended the autocratic rule of Sheikh Hasina – who fled by helicopter to New Delhi – has since been courted by Beijing, India’s rival.
“It is such a great pleasure to jointly witness this historic moment, as the first consignment of Bangladesh’s premium mangoes sets off for China,” China’s ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen said, alongside government officials.
Bangladesh, largely encircled by land by India, has seen relations with New Delhi turn icy.
Interim Bangladeshi leader Muhammad Yunus’s first state visit was to China, while Bangladesh has also moved closer to Pakistan, India’s arch-enemy.
“President Xi Jinping has emphasised on several occasions that China’s door of opening up will not close, but will only open wider,” Yao said, at a small ceremony at the airport alongside Bangladeshi ministers.
“I am confident that the export of Bangladeshi mangoes to China is just the beginning,” he added.
In China, the fruit has a particular historic diplomatic resonance – including the curious cult of the mango.
After Chairman Mao Zedong was pictured gifting a mango to a group of workers in 1968, during the mania of the Cultural Revolution, the fruit became an object of veneration.
Those mangoes were reportedly a gift from the foreign minister of Pakistan -- and at that time, in 1968, Bangladesh had yet to win its independence from Islamabad.
Export levels are small so far, just 50 tonnes in an initial phase, but both Bangladesh and China said they hoped to increase that.
In the past year, China has sponsored several tours for Dhaka’s political party leaders, and has begun hosting Bangladeshi patients in its hospitals.
India has long been wary of China’s growing regional clout and the world’s two most populous countries compete for influence in South Asia, despite a recent diplomatic thaw. — AFP
These were the details of the news Bangladesh ships first mangoes to China as ties with India sour for this day. We hope that we have succeeded by giving you the full details and information. To follow all our news, you can subscribe to the alerts system or to one of our different systems to provide you with all that is new.
It is also worth noting that the original news has been published and is available at Malay Mail and the editorial team at AlKhaleej Today has confirmed it and it has been modified, and it may have been completely transferred or quoted from it and you can read and follow this news from its main source.
