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Source: Dhaka Tribune
Recently, Chinese President Xi Jinping wrote back to Bangladeshi girl Alifa Chin. In his letter, he told her to work hard in school, follow her dreams, and keep up the long-standing friendship between China and Bangladesh.
Noting that Chin’s story in the letter is a good example of the friendship between the two countries, Xi said that the Chinese and Bangladeshis have been close neighbors and good friends for a very long time. According to UNB, which cited Xinhua, these friendly exchanges have been going on for over a thousand years.
The Chinese president said that Zheng He, a Chinese explorer from the Ming Dynasty, went to Bangladesh twice and planted the seeds of friendship between the two countries.
Over 600 years later, during a friendship and humanitarian journey of China’s navy hospital ship “The Peace Ark,” a Chinese female military doctor helped Chin’s mother get through a dangerous time and give birth to her in Chittagong. And Chin’s father gave her the name China, which is the word for China in Bangladeshi. Xi said that the story of how China and Bangladesh became friends was very moving.
The Chinese president said he was very happy to hear that Chin wants to be a relationship messenger between China and Bangladesh when she grows up. She also wants to go to medical school in China so she can save lives like her “Chinese mother.”
Xi said that he hoped Chin would make the most of her youth and work hard to make her dream come true. He said that if she did this, she would be able to help her family, give back to society, and serve her country.
World Children’s Day is coming up, so Xi told Chin that he hopes she stays healthy, has a happy family, and does well in school.
Chin was born in 2010, and her mother had a hard time giving birth because she had a serious heart problem. At that time, the traveling hospital ship, “The Peace Ark,” got help and sent military doctors to the local hospital to do a caesarean section under a lot of pressure. Mother and daughter were finally safe. The father named the baby “Chin,” which means “China” in Bengali, as a way to show his thanks.
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