Recently, under the guidance of the Foreign Affairs Office of the People’s Government of Yunnan Province and Yunnan University, a "Return to Alma Mater, See China Again" homecoming trip was organized for members of the Association of Bangladeshi Alumni of China (Yunnan). After years away, 19 Bangladeshi alumni who had once studied at universities across the province—including Yunnan University, Kunming Medical University, Yunnan Minzu University, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming University of Science and Technology, and Southwest Forestry University—returned to their alma maters and to their "second hometown" of Yunnan. There they reunited and caught up with former teachers and classmates, visited Kunming, Yuxi, and other places, and experienced the changes China has seen in recent years in urban planning, infrastructure, rural revitalization, healthcare, industrial development, ecological conservation, and other fields.

Starting in September 2022, China granted Bangladesh zero-tariff treatment on 98% of its tariff lines, an arrangement that was upgraded in December 2024 to preferential zero-tariff treatment covering 100% of tariff lines. This continuously expanding policy has opened up a vast Chinese market for Bangladesh's distinctive products and become a key driver of mutually beneficial China-Bangladesh trade and economic cooperation. These returning graduates, deeply engaged in commerce and industrial exchange, are both firsthand observers of these policies and active promoters of bilateral cooperation.

After graduation, Yunnan University alumnus He Liya has been engaged in cross-border trade between China and Bangladesh and now serves as CEO of Mengyun Company. In his view, the upgraded zero-tariff policy has expanded the range of products covered. If businesses in both countries make full use of this policy window, bilateral trade is expected to grow further, bringing greater benefits to the real economies of both countries. His company is currently preparing to expand into the agricultural sector. Due to the seasonal nature of agricultural production, it plans to make use of the preferential policy in the next agricultural production season.

Also a graduate of Yunnan University, Murong Qi works in garment exports and is now business manager at Kaixi Fashion Bangladesh Co. Ltd. He sees great promise in the signals the policy sends. "Lower tariff barriers will drive two-way investment flows and create more cooperation opportunities across various industries in Bangladesh and China," he said.

Beyond trade in goods, alumni are turning their attention to technology exchange as a new frontier for cooperation. Yunnan University alumnus Mo Yan, now at Byter Crop Protection Bangladesh Co. Ltd., has long followed agricultural cooperation between Bangladesh and China. He notes that Bangladesh relies heavily on China for agrochemical imports, while its farming still depends largely on manual pesticide application, which is labor-intensive and inefficient. Chinese drone-based crop spraying, by contrast, saves time and labor and suits local farming needs well. What he hopes to see is Chinese agrochemical and farm machinery companies making their way into Bangladesh, so that this kind of practical, "small yet beautiful" cooperation can bring real, tangible gains to ordinary workers.

For this tariff benefits to deliver real results, market players in both countries must put them into practice. Zero tariffs remove institutional barriers in import and export, helping goods, technology, and capital flow more freely, and laying a solid people-to-people and business foundation for a China-Bangladesh community with a shared future.

Economic and trade cooperation builds bridges between countries, while people-to-people exchanges bring hearts closer. When they first arrived in Yunnan, language barriers, cultural differences, and misinformation from abroad stood as formidable obstacles. Yet the sense of distance often dissolves through the simplest, most ordinary moments.

Li Liya, a local Chinese language teacher at the Confucius Institute at North South University in Bangladesh, came to Yunnan University from Dhaka in 2015 to study Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages. Before setting off, she had heard many one-sided accounts about China and felt anxious about the journey. But the moment she arrived in Kunming and saw the clear blue sky, a sense of wonder began to take root in her heart, marking the beginning of her journey of embracing and growing fond of this land.“Kunming is my second home. No matter where I go, Kunming will always be a place close to my heart,” Li Liya said fondly.

Zhu Bifang, a senior HR consultant at Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co., Ltd. in Bangladesh, came to Yunnan in 2012 to study clinical medicine at Kunming Medical University. He recalls that his early days in a foreign country were full of challenges. "I couldn't speak the language, and even managing daily life was a struggle. On top of that, different eating habits and having no social circle often left me feeling lost,” he recalls. Classrooms can teach you professional knowledge, he says, but they can hardly teach a newcomer how to settle into everyday life in a foreign place. What truly melted his sense of distance was the kindness and openness of ordinary Yunnan people, along with the care and help he received from neighbors, classmates, and teachers in the small moments of daily life. Slowly, he developed a genuine sense of belonging, and Yunnan became a second hometown he can never let go of.

Once back home with their degrees, they have taken on the role of cultural ambassadors. Li Liya champions Chinese language education on her campus, sharing a firsthand view of China with friends and family to counter stereotypes. Jiang Hao, who holds a PhD in ethnology from Yunnan Minzu University and now serves as dean of the law school at North East University Bangladesh, studies Chinese alongside his wife, who earned her PhD in the language in Yunnan. He often shares what he has seen of China's development with people in his community, and "once you've been to China, you'll want to go again" is a refrain he likes to repeat. Zhu Bifang sees education cooperation and medical outreach as two important paths to deepening bilateral ties. "China has truly excellent medical resources, but most Bangladeshis don't know about them—those of us who have lived in China know very well." He believes that those who have studied in China are uniquely positioned to show their fellow Bangladeshis what Chinese education and healthcare are really like.

The meaning of studying abroad goes beyond changing individual lives. In Yunnan, these young people grew, learned and found their own paths, before bringing a real and multidimensional picture of China back home. The true value of “zero” lies in the endless possibilities for cooperation that emerge when barriers fall. As they put it, mountains and seas may lie far apart, but hearts can always be brought to “zero distance.”