The two countries issued a joint statement Friday in which they agreed to strengthen cooperation in trade, investment, agriculture, transport and infrastructure, the official Xinhua news agency said.

China National Petroleum Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding with two Bangladeshi groups on cooperation in oil and gas, the statement said, without providing any more details.

The statement came on the third day of Hasina's visit to China, during which she met her counterpart Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao.

China offered a soft loan to Bangladesh and also agreed to provide preferential tariffs for more Bangladeshi products, the report said, without giving any figures or further details.

The two nations also agreed to cooperate on hybrid rice production technology, and Bangladesh urged China to launch a communications satellite on its behalf, the report said.

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