China is not involved in the "humanitarian corridor" initiative being discussed for sending aid by the UN to Rakhine State, said Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen.

"As far as my understanding is concerned, it is an initiative by the United Nations agencies to provide humanitarian supplies to Rakhine State for the people affected by the conflict -- China is not involved in this matter," Yao said.

Bangladesh was in contact with the Myanmar junta government and Arakan Army through the UN for a humanitarian channel, as proposed by the UN, given that Rakhine faces a famine-like situation amid conflicts between the Arakan Army and the Myanmar junta since late 2023.

For that to happen, Bangladesh has put forward some conditions that include a ceasefire in Rakhine, representation of the Rohingya in the Rakhine leadership and creating conditions in the state for the eventual repatriation of the Rohingya.

"China does not interfere in any internal affairs of any country," he said at the event organised by the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies at its auditorium.

He went on to express hope that Bangladesh and Myanmar can properly solve the Rohingya issue through peaceful dialogue and promote the process of repatriation.

There are some 1.4 million Rohingya sheltered in Bangladesh, with more fleeing every day.

China had mediated between Bangladesh and Myanmar for the Rohingya return, but that stopped in late 2023 because of the conflicts in Rakhine State, which still continue, Yao said.

However, China will facilitate dialogue between the two countries.

"We will never give up," he said at the event titled 'Five Decades of Bangladesh-China Relations: Towards a New Height'.

Addressing the discussion, Imtiaz Ahmed, executive director for the Centre for Alternatives Executive, proposed a Marshall Plan for Rakhine State, which can facilitate Rohingya repatriation.

Regional countries like China, Japan and India should come forward with "out-of-the-box ideas", he said.

Bangladesh approached China for the Teesta river management project as India had not signed the water sharing treaty, while Bangladesh has been suffering from a lack of irrigation water in the north, said Ahmed, also a former professor of international relations at the University of Dhaka.

"This is an economic project -- not a security one," he said, adding that China can alone support this project, or India and China can jointly do it.

There can even be a consortium for the project.

"We are willing to offer our help. Now it is up to Bangladesh to decide whether it wants to move forward," Yao said in response.

On the India-Pakistan conflict, he said both neighbours should refrain from further escalation.

"China opposes any form of terrorism and wants a neutral investigation into the attack into the terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. We urge both sides to act in the interest of peace and stability, stay calm, exercise restraint and refrain from taking actions that may further complicate the situation."

The world today is full of turmoil, instability and uncertainty.

"No matter how the international landscape may evolve, China will stand firm on the right side of history and the side of human progress, serving as the most stable, certain and peaceful force in the world."

Yao said China stands ready to work with Bangladesh and all parties to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, jointly resist unilateral protectionism and hegemonic bullying practices, in order to uphold free trade and multilateralism.