Chinese naval ships arrive in Bangladesh for goodwill visit

Two Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ships, training ship Qi Jiguang and amphibious dock landing ship Jinggangshan, arrived in Bangladesh on Saturday for a three-day goodwill visit.

The Qi Jiguang ship, named after a 16th-century Chinese general of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), arrived in Chittagong, the largest port city of Bangladesh, on Saturday morning, with about 300 people, including staff from the Chinese embassy and consulate in Bangladesh, representatives of Chinese companies and Confucius Institutes, and representatives of Bangladeshi naval officers and soldiers, welcoming its arrival at the dock.

A banner carrying the sign of "even mountains and oceans cannot distance people with common aspirations" was hung on the Qi Jiguang ship, and a series of exchange activities have been scheduled.

"We were very excited after boarding the ship. Seeing the powerful Chinese Navy, we felt very proud as overseas constructors of the Belt and Road Initiative," said Wu Qiudong, a staff member at a Chinese company in Bangladesh.

The visit of the Chinese naval ships to Bangladesh was carried out in accordance with the annual international military cooperation plan, and is combined with the maritime practical training tasks of the cadets of the PLA Naval University of Engineering, said Chinese naval officers.

"The visit aims to strengthen exchanges, cooperation and mutual trust with the Bangladesh Navy and contribute to the building of a maritime community with a shared future. During the visit, the fleet will organize bilateral meetings, ship open visits and professional exchanges," said Kang Junwei, political commissar of the Qi Jiguang ship.

The U.S. dollar weakened in late trading on Wednesday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, dropped 0.72 percent to 99.142 at 15:00 (1900 GMT).

In late New York trading, the euro increased to 1.1683 dollars from 1.1574 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound was up to 1.3415 dollars from 1.3251 dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 158.51 Japanese yen, lower than 159.73 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar declined to 0.7914 Swiss francs from 0.7988 Swiss francs, and it fell to 1.3849 Canadian dollars from 1.3899 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar lost to 9.3069 Swedish kronor from 9.5065 Swedish kronor.