Dar es Salaam, March 28 -- Beijing, CHINA: THE head of Bangladeshs interim government, Muhammad Yunus, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday, state media reported.

This is Yunus first bilateral state visit since he took over as the South Asian nations interim leader last August following the ouster of then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Hasina stepped down and fled to neighboring India in the wake of a student-led mass uprising against her rule.

Hasinas government shared close ties with India but relations between the two sides have been strained since her ouster, providing an opportunity for Beijing to cultivate closer ties with Dhaka.

While Bangladesh and India share deep historical, cultural ...