Relationship between China and Bangladesh

Submitted By:

Group Name: Communist

1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 2

2. Historical Review of China-Bangladesh Relationship ............................................................ 2

3. Decoding China-Bangladesh Relationship .............................................................................. 3

4. The Strategic Partnership between Bangladesh and China ..................................................... 4

5. Contemporary Partnership between Bangladesh and China.................................................... 5

6. The Political Dimension of Bangladesh-China Bilateral Relations ........................................ 6

7. The Geo-political Context of Bangladesh- China Relations ................................................... 7

8. Defense Cooperation between Bangladesh and China ............................................................ 7

9. Diplomatic Relations between Bangladesh and China ............................................................ 8

10. Trade Relationship ............................................................................................................... 9

11. Economic Relationship ...................................................................................................... 10

12. Modern Relationship .......................................................................................................... 11

13. Emergence of new global superpower ............................................................................... 12

14. Containing India’s regional dominance ............................................................................. 12

15. Challenges for Bangladesh ................................................................................................ 13

16. Policy Recommendations................................................................................................... 15

17. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 16

Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 17

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1. Introduction

Bangladesh and China both are South Asian country. China’s border is 100 kilometers from

Bangladesh in the north over the Himalayas. Afghanistan, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, India,

Pakistan and Sri Lanka also from South Asia. There are relationship between these countries.

Besides many other South Asian countries Bangladesh and China maintain a good relationship

among them. Likewise Bangladesh has an embassy in Beijing and consulates in Hong Kong and

Kunming. China has an embassy in Dhaka. They are also members of BCIM Forum (Wikipedia,

2019). China also play supportive role in the Rohingya crisis to help Bangladesh to give back the

Rohingya people to Myanmar. Bangladesh and China also tie to strengthen interactive cooperation

and joint speculation. Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI) and Yunnan-

Bengal Business Information Consultation Co jointly organized a seminar between November 10

and 17. In this seminar the General Secretary of BAPI said that “15 leading medicine

manufacturers from Bangladesh, and 30 from China participated in the seminar” (Dhaka Tribune,

2018). Bangladesh and China have also trade relation among them. Bangladesh can import cotton,

machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers, Iron, steel, plastics, salt, Sulphur, stone, plaster, and cement,

crocheted fabrics, electric product, and organic chemicals from China. China can import frozen

foods, cotton textiles, fish, tea, chemical products, lather, raw jute etc. from Bangladesh. As stated

by the Financial Times (US), the USD 3.7 billion Padma Rail link, for which Beijing has provided

more than USD 3 billion, will serve as “a physical reminder of China’s growing presence” in

Bangladesh (The Daily Star, 2018).

2. Historical Review of China-Bangladesh Relationship

China and Bangladesh have been keeping a close relationship from the very beginning of their

diplomatic ties in October 1975. They established diplomatic relations in January 1976. Their

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mutual relations have been focused on trade, political, social, cultural etc. Now-a-days China’s

assistance to Bangladesh on infrastructure, power, energy and telecommunications (The Daily

Star, 2018 ). Within that time, both China and Bangladesh have tied to established good

relationship with each other and it’s going on. There were three political regimes in Bangladesh

which has remarkable contributions in developing a partnership with China. The trend in China

toward a more open foreign policy during the 1970s also paralleled the Bangladeshi move toward

neutralism under Zia, who visited Beijing in 1977. The first diplomatic support of China toward

Bangladesh was on the Bangladesh-India dispute over the construction of the Farakka barrage by

India upstream on the Ganges River. China had a healthy economic relation with Bangladesh in

1980s. By mid-1980s, Bangladesh had become a major procurer of Chinese military hardware and

also supplied it with military aid and equipment. Between 1975 and 1979, China supplied 78% of

Bangladesh’s arms imports (Abu Sufian Shamrat, 2018). This way China and Bangladesh can

maintain a good relationship from the very beginning.

3. Decoding China-Bangladesh Relationship

There are some specific relations between China and Bangladesh. These countries share their

defense, economic, political and people-to-people ties. China’s main interest is in Bangladesh 160

million strong market. In many ways China and Bangladesh are related in the trade sectors. That

way they can reliant on each of them. The opportunities of economic globalization at above 6%

and made steady progress in industrialization and urbanization. Bangladesh is well on track to

achieve vision 2021 and become a middle-income country. Bangladesh can import many electrical

product and machinery product from China and China can import chemical products from

Bangladesh. That way they can interchange their needs and make a relationship between them.

Expert trainers in China will help their Bangladesh counterparts improve in the areas of student

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exchange, teacher’s professional development and knowledge among them. The agreement will

mean that the first cohort of 85 Bangladeshi students will be enrolled in the partnered Yunnan

institutions with scholarships by September 2018 (The World Bank, 2018).

4. The Strategic Partnership between Bangladesh and China

Relations between Bangladesh and China reached in a remarkable position in the very early period

of Twenty – First century and it is still and ongoing process. Politics and strategies of both states

have changed towards each other with the development of globalization. It is because the countries

have found it important to maintain a status quo position so that the maximum interest can be

ensured. For Bangladesh, China has become a very crucial source of her export and import of arms,

technological commodities, agricultural commodities and sometimes, cultural imperatives. For

China, Bangladesh is not only a source of cheap labor and natural resources but also a part of

Chinese great strategy in South Asia( for example: The ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative, the ‘String

of Pearls’ initiative etc.) . And the most important thing which is very common in both the state’s

policy is to deter India creating a ‘hegemony’ in this part of globe. The following part, which is

main part actually, is going to discuss how the partnership has taken a new term between

Bangladesh and China from the beginning of the new century till the present. This is basically a

discussion of the more developed bilateral relations between the political parties of both states. It

is just to justify here that, China does not care about which political regime is in the ruling position

in Bangladesh. (Ali, 2nd April,2018).

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s principle of friendship towards all, malice towards none

in dictating its foreign policy. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 41 years ago, Bangladesh

and china have had a relationship of shared mutual cooperation in the economic military,

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technological and cultural fields. Both countries also share the same outlook on a number of

important international and regional issues.

During the 41 year period, there have been state visits by senior officials from both countries. This

is a clear sign that Bangladesh gives a lot of importance to its relation with China and vice versa.

During Farooq Siobhan’s tenure as the Bangladesh Ambassador to China from August 1987 to

October 1991 he witnessed the early years of China’s rapid economic growth. (Sobhan, 4th

October,2016).

5. Contemporary Partnership between Bangladesh and China

The relationship between Bangladesh and China dates back centuries. Historical records show that

there were three Silk Roads that connected primeval china with the Indian sub-continent. The

Southern silk route was a bridge between the Eastern part of Bengal (Todays Bangladesh) and the

middle kingdom war and other conflicts in the regional, particularly during after an world war 2,

disrupted the Sino-Bengal historical ties and connectivity. However, economic rise of China in the

past three decades as well as Bangladeshi’s steady economic growth since the early 1990s have

resulted in better trade, ties between the two nations. Further, the contemporary economic

convergence in Asia, thanks to the shifting global center of economic gravity towards East has

created a space to re-establish their historic connectivity. According to Dany Quah , an academic

from London School of Economics, the global center of economic gravity that was once at a point

deep in the middle of Atlantic Ocean in 1980s has shifted East over the past 30 years, and could

well shift even further over the next 30 years clustering around the border between China and

India. Professor Quah witnessed that relation between Bangladesh and China has been coined as

“time-tested”, all-weather friendship. “There is a plethora of bilateral agreements between Dhaka

and Beijing including trade, soft loans, social contracts, cultural exchanges, academic interactions,

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and infrastructure development and military sales. China is the largest supplier of Military

hardware to Bangladesh. (The Daily Star, january 25,2012).

6. The Political Dimension of Bangladesh-China Bilateral Relations

Bangladesh’s relations with China is not occurring in a vacuum-it is taking place in an international

strategic context, where the interest of foreign powers set the parameters within which it has to

maneuver. It is not possible for Bangladesh to craft a course whereby it is effectively able to

overcome such externally imposed constraints to pursue a proactive, prudent and productive China

policy by balancing all the relevant actors. China as a development partner of Bangladesh is

devoted to the goal of economic upliftment of the country, and has contributed substantially to its

defense sector, as well as in its vital infrastructure modernization efforts. In the energy sector too,

China’s role has been significant, and there is much scope for its further expansion. For instance,

Chinese technical assistance in gas exploration and transportation would be of tremendous value.

China currently is the largest regional trading partner of Bangladesh, having surpassed India in

terms of trade value. Bangladesh so far has benefited much from Chinese assistance in a number

of areas, and could yet gain further from sustained economic engagement with China, which could

become a ‘force multiplier’ by bolstering strategic goals.

The bilateral relations of Bangladesh and China are harmonious, but is being rendered complicated

by extraneous factors, and there’s the rub. Although at the official level, there is the rhetorical

reaffirmation of Bangladesh’s commitment to uphold the time-tested friendship with China, at the

operational level a subtle shift is discernable. It goes without saying that a lack of sincerity in

Bangladesh’s profession of friendship toward China may not augur well for it. (Wang, 2010).

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7. The Geo-political Context of Bangladesh- China Relations

As alluded to earlier, Bangladesh-China relations are evolving in the shadow of international

political compulsions. As a result of which, Bangladesh’s interaction with China related to trade

and funds are being unduly politicized and it is becoming increasingly difficult for Bangladesh to

pursue a truly independent policy toward China which may adversely affect its long-term

economic development. In the area of water resources and river management, China, too should

be include, since some major rivers such as Brahmaputra, have their origins there. Any regional

initiative in the regard which exclude China would only be ineffective, irresponsible and

impractical, ignoring the fact that it is the next door neighbor of South Asia. (Garver, March

31,2006).

8. Defense Cooperation between Bangladesh and China

The Bangladesh Army has been equipped with Chinese tanks, its navy has Chinese frigates and

missile boats and the Bangladesh Air Force flies Chinese fighter jets. In 2002, China and

Bangladesh signed a ‘Defense Cooperative Agreement’ which covers military training and defense

production. In 2006, a Chinese report to the United Nations revealed that Dhaka is emerging as a

major buyer of Chinese-made weapons. China sold 65 large caliber artillery systems, 16 combat

aircraft and 114 missile and related equipment to Bangladesh in 2006. Bangladesh also bought

roughly 200 small arms and regular artillery pieces from China.

In 2008, Bangladesh set up an anti-ship missile launch pad near the Chittagong Port with assistance

from China. The maiden missile test was performed on 12 May 2008 with active participation of

Chinese experts. It successfully test-fired anti-ship missile C-802A with a strike range of 120 km

from the frigate BNS Osman near Kutubdia Island in the Bay of Bengal. Bangladesh’s regional

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neighbors Myanmar, Thailand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka also depend on Chinese military supplies;

as do other Muslim-majority countries of similar size. (star, 3rd march,2017).

9. Diplomatic Relations between Bangladesh and China

Chinese Ambassador in Dhaka Zhang Zuo has said that Beijing is ready to give Dhaka a ‘higher

priority’ in its diplomacy to become a great partner for mutually beneficial cooperation. ‘China

and Bangladesh share close people-to-people bond, similar national realities, and complementary

development goals,’’ he said.The ambassador was speaking at the reception he hosted for the 69th

anniversary of the founding of China on Saturday at the embassy. ‘We would like to preserve our

friendship with the people of Bangladesh for generations to come, and we are ready to give

Bangladesh a higher priority in China’s diplomacy, in order to become great partners of win-win

cooperation, great friends with openness and inclusiveness, close brothers for opening and

innovations, and good neighbors who learn from each other.’The ambassador said China and

Bangladesh have always been good friends during the 43 years of diplomatic relations. ‘Especially,

after the successful state visit of Chinese president in October 2016, the China-Bangladesh

relationship was elevated to a Strategic Partnership of Cooperation, and thus started a new chapter

in our bilateral relations.’ It’s worth mentioning that our joint building of the ‘Belt and Road’

initiative is highly fruited. In 2017, our bilateral trade value reached $16 billion, 5.8 % higher than

last year, with China remaining the no.1 trade partner to Bangladesh; the contracts of international

projects singed between Bangladesh and Chinese companies reached $10.4 billion, second in the

South Asian region. Under the wise leadership of the government of Bangladesh, the diligent

Bangladeshi people have made great achievements in national construction and social

development. (Bdnews24.com, 30 september,2018).

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10. Trade Relationship

Bangladesh is the third-biggest exchange accomplice of China in South Asia. But, the bilateral

trade between them is exceptionally tilted in favour of Beijing. Bilateral exchange came to as high

as US$3.19 billion out of 2006, mirroring a development of 28.5% somewhere in the range of

2005 and 2006. China has reinforced its monetary guide to Bangladesh to address concerns of

trade imbalance; in 2006, Bangladesh's exports to China amounted only about USD 98.8 million.

Under the support of the Asia-Pacific Free Trade Agreement (AFTA), China removed tariff

barriers to 84 kinds of items imported from Bangladesh and is attempting to lessen levies over the

exchange of jute and materials, which are Bangladesh's main local items. The Chinese envoy

further said the bilateral relationship between China and Bangladesh had been elevated to a

strategic partnership of cooperation, beginning a new chapter in the BRI. (Bangladesh-China

Relations, 2019). Chinese investors would welcome reliable partners from Bangladesh, but they

would discourage the commission seekers. Despite all obstacles, Chinese investment has been

increasing over the years. In the year 2016 China invested about US $41 million, which was 30

percent higher compared to previous year 2015. Pointing to the trade gap between Bangladesh and

China, China said that it exported goods to Bangladesh worth US $14 billion and imported less

than US $1 billion. Investment from China would help to reduce the trade gap between the two

countries. (Khaled, 2018). In 2017, bilateral trade between the two countries reached $16 billion,

5.8% higher than the previous year. China remains the number one trade partner to Bangladesh,

and engineering contracts signed between Bangladesh and Chinese companies amounted to $10.4

billion. In the first half of this year, bilateral trade stands at $9.35 billion, with a growth rate of

17.6% year on year. In addition, contracts worth $3.57 billion have been signed, amounting to

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8.6% growth year-on-year. (China for enhancing practical economic cooperation with Bangladesh,

2018).

11. Economic Relationship

Bangladesh, an emerging nation from South Asia, has turned into a 'focal point of consideration'

to a consistently expanding worldwide power named China which is an emerging catalyst of policy

management in Asia. Since October 2013, China has made efforts to improve relations with

neighboring countries. The principles for China’s foreign policy interactions with neighbors in the

coming years are ‘friendship, sincerity, benefit, and tolerance’, and the Maritime Silk Road (MSR)

is set to become the diplomatic artery or bridge between China and its neighbors. In December

2002, the then Bangladeshi Prime Minister made visit to China which was significant in the

bilateral relations between the two countries. According to a Memorandum of Understanding,

China promised Bangladesh a 100 million Yuan, in addition to the previously sanctioned interest-

free 50 million Yuan for constructing the sixth Bangladesh-China friendship bridge on the river

Dholessori. In the 2001-02 economic year, Bangladesh’s imports from China were worth 657.78

million USD while its exports were worth 19 million USD. In 2004, Bangladesh’s trade volume

amounted to 1.96 billion USD, an increase of 43.5 percent from the previous year, and China’s

exports to Bangladesh stood at 1.9 billion USD, up 42.8 percent from 2003. Chinese imports from

Bangladesh totaled 57.01 million USD, an increase of 70.7 percent. China-Bangladesh trade

volume reached a record high of 10.3 billion US dollars with a growth rate of 21.9% compared

with 2012, 10 times that of 2002. In 2005, China emerged as the number one import source for

Bangladesh, overtaking India for the first time. While Bangladesh’s imports from China amounted

to 2078.99 million USD during the 2005-2006 fiscal year, imports from India amounted to 416.6

million USD. In the fiscal year of 2015-16, export from China amounted to 808.14 million USD

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and the import amount was nearly 11602.23 million USD, which broke all the record of the past.

(Shamrat & Ali, 2018).

12. Modern Relationship

China-Bangladesh dealings have undergone dramatic transformation from a formerly adversarial

relationship to an enduring strategic partnership. During the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971,

China supported Pakistan. Post-liberation of Bangladesh, China even vetoed that country’s entry

into the United Nations. Since then, the bilateral relationship has undergone significant

transformation. By the mid-1980s, China had forged close military, commercial and cultural ties

with Bangladesh and also supplied it with military aid and equipment. The then-president of

Bangladesh was warmly received in Beijing in July 1987. A Bangladesh-China friendship bridge

was constructed and inaugurated over river Buriganga connecting Dhaka and Munshiganj by the

Chinese as a token of this newly advancing diplomatic and military relationship. On 4 October

2000, the Government of Bangladesh issued a postal stamp marking the 25th anniversary of the

establishment of Bangladesh-China diplomatic relations. By this time, China had provided

economic assistance totaling US$300 million to Bangladesh and the bilateral trade had reached a

value mounting to a billion dollars. In 2002, the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao made an official visit

to Bangladesh and both countries declared 2005 as the "Bangladesh-China Friendship Year."

Today, Bangladesh considers China an all-weather friend and trusted ally. During Chinese

President Xi Jinping’s visit to Dhaka in 2016, the two countries established a strategic partnership.

The two countries signed nine different bilateral agreements to further their mutual relationship.

(Bangladesh-China Relations, 2019).

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13. Emergence of new global superpower

Countries around the world are pushing back against China's revival as a major global power.

China's sheer size and population make it a heavyweight and a clear strategic rival to the United

States. It is the world's most populous country and among its largest. BBC news reported “Its

influence has boomed - along with its economy - in recent years, as the US and Europe nursed the

wounds from devastating financial crises (Nahreen, 2017). This has concerned several countries,

particularly the US, which is keen to retain its dominant position in the world. China’s influence

in the global market is increasing rapidly from south Asia to Africa all over the world.

14. Containing India’s regional dominance

China’s involvement in India’s neighborhood countries, whether it is fairly recent such as in

Bangladesh or Srilanka or more long term like its partnership with Pakistan, is aimed at checking

India’s influence in the region. Many Indian foreign policy experts view China’s “commercial

activities” in India’s neighborhood as a means of strategic encirclement.

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited to Bangladesh on October 14-15, 2016 and it had been dubbed

as one of the strategic geopolitical game changer in South Asia and the Indian Ocean. During the

visit Bangladeshi and Chinese firms signed 13.6 billion worth of deals in trade and investment in

addition to the USD 20 billion in loan agreements signed by the two governments. The inevitable

question is why the world’s second largest economy comprising of 1.37 billion people which is 67

times bigger the Bangladesh is cozying up to the world’s 47th largest economy? What geopolitical

importance does Bangladesh have to receive such enormous bilateral assistance from a nation

aspiring to be the next world leader? Bangladesh has strategically important geographic location,

physical and political proximity to India, availability of cheap labour, and proximity to the Bay of

Bengal have significant implications for Chinese regional geopolitics and Geo-economics (Costa,

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2018). China is also seeking to make inroads into Bangladesh. Loans worth over $24 billion to

Bangladesh have signed up to help it build up power plants, a seaport and railways. Furthermore,

China plans to finance some 25 projects, including a 1,320 megawatt (MW) power plant and also

keen to build a deep sea port in addition to promising to boost military to military relations with

Bangladesh by stepping up its defense ties, including widening of personnel training and

cooperation in equipment technology.

China has been quietly checkmating India's regional dominance in South Asia through its arms

sale in countries bordering India. While Beijing today is the third largest arms provider in the

world, between 2011 and 2015, 71 percent of Chinese arms exports were to Pakistan, Myanmar,

and Bangladesh – states proximate to both India and China. Although Bangladesh's USD 195

billion GDP is very tiny compare to 0.017 percent of China's USD 11 trillion GDP, between 2011

and 2015 Bangladesh was the second largest recipient of Chinese arms in the world with Beijing

supplying over 80 percent of the country's arms imports over the past decade. When China sells

heavy armaments like tanks and submarines to a country, the importing country becomes reliant

on China for a long time for training, maintenance, and repair. This reliance inevitably results in

certain degree of influence on the importing country. This makes it advantageous for China to be

selling arms at low prices and on easy credit to countries bordering India as a way of checking

India's geopolitical ambitions in the region. For China, growing ties with Bangladesh serves the

dual purpose of revenue from sale of arms and checking Indian dominance in the region.

15. Challenges for Bangladesh

The foreign associations share the Bangladeshi government’s policies in its outside relations with

the international community (Wikipedia, 2019). Since independence Bangladesh has increased her

capita income four fold and cut poverty by more than half despite having various external and

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internal challenges. The current Awami league government seems determined to make Bangladesh

a middle income country by 2021. The country is already recognized as a lower-middle income

country by World Bank (Dhaka Tribune, 2015). There are many prospects for Bangladesh which

are described. However, all these prospects are not without challenges. From one angle, Chinese

geo-political interests in the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal have been concern for other

regional and extra-regional powers such as India, Japan and U.S. They apprehend that Chinese

increasing compass of influence in the Bay of Bengal jeopardize their security and strategic

interests and vice versa. Particularly, India is increasingly worried about the rising economic and

strategic profile of China as it has begun to emerge as one of the largest trading partners of its

neighbor’s including India. Thus, as a whole, China’s increasing appointment in this region is

indeed worrying for India, Japan and the US who are concerned for the so-called ‘String of Pearls’:

China’s plans to build ports and, other maritime infrastructures in the Bay of Bengal, from Gwadar

in Pakistan to Hambantota in Sri Lanka to Sittwe in Burma and Chittagong in Bangladesh has rung

alarm bells in New Delhi. Sood, an Indian scholar, argues that China with her massive economic

capacity has effectively been able to exploit India’s poor relations with its instant neighbor’s by

establishing economic ties with them—creating what he terms ‘reverse entrapment’ of India, a

strategy of trying to restrict India’s power to the Asian subcontinent (Ayres, 2009). Although there

are vast forecasts for economic development in Bangladesh, these strategic games and calculations

of major powers generate anxiety and perhaps put policy makers in the country into difficulty

about how to proceed with and implement desired and necessary development predominantly some

mega projects like constructing deep seaport.

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16. Policy Recommendations

In the light of aforementioned discussions, a bunch of key policy imperatives are to be suggested

both for Bangladesh and China in order to further strengthen their bilateral relationship.

From Bangladesh’s side, the following steps are necessary to be taken:

 Bangladesh faces a massive trade gap with China. Therefore, in order to decrease trade

imbalance, the Government of Bangladesh needs to take enterprises for direct

communication with the Chinese business community to expand its export volume to China

and remove its structural problems as the Chinese market is quite expanded a competitive.

 Bangladesh may focus on the energy sector within this relationship. Increasing national

pressure on electricity and gas in the development sectors of Bangladesh can be controlled

by providing more funds and enabling technological know-how on this area. In that case,

Chinese experience and expertise may facilitate a large influence. Bangladesh may

stipulate the Chinese assistance to build a nuclear power-plant in order to meet the current

energy crisis.

 Bangladesh may pursue Chinese cooperation on renewable energy resources, like biogas,

bio-fuel, and solar energy.

 Bangladesh needs to improve its political attachment with China. Therefore, Bangladesh

may look into a strategic partnership agreement with China to tackle security threats that

could compromise Bangladesh’s interests. Bangladesh also requires following the role of

China to bring political stability in Asia.

 Sharing of cultures through people-to-people connectivity between the two countries is

necessary to advance ties between the two countries.

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On the other hand, China may also take the following wits to fortify decades-long Bangladesh-

China relationships:

 China may invest in Bangladesh’s manufacturing sectors in which Bangladesh is no longer

its competitor.

 China may take initiatives to ensure the security of Bangladesh through providing military

and technological assistance. Thus, regional constancy in South Asia may certify the

mutual benefits both for China and Bangladesh.

 China may invest further in the energy sectors of Bangladesh, meanwhile the investment

is threatened in those sectors and China has the financial and technological capacity to

improve the energy security of Bangladesh.

 China can offer assistance to build the backward connection for the garments sectors of

Bangladesh.

17. Conclusion

Bangladesh and China both countries are concern enough to maintain their relationship. They also

have maintain close defense ties. Not only China is a reliable source of weapons and equipment

for Bangladeshi armed forces, but also provides military technology and training. The relationship

between Bangladesh and China dates back centuries. Still economic rise of China in the past three

decades as well as Bangladesh’s steady economic growth since the early 1990s have resulted in

better trade ties between the two nations. China and Bangladesh both witnessed marked increase

in trade in recent decades. China’s Trade-to-GDP ratio has exceeded 55% and that of Bangladesh’s

approaches 50%. China is Bangladesh’s large trading partner, with total trade exceeding $7 billion

in 2010. However, the former remains a minor export destination for the latter. Beijing has offered

duty- free access to 4721 Bangladeshi produces to address the growing trade imbalance (Islam,

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2012). In the Post-Cold War, countries are focused on how to reap the dividends of economic

globalization and such hostile policies are anachronistic and counterproductive especially from the

point of view of countries like Bangladesh that are small in terms of overall national capabilities.

It is, therefore, argued that China-Bangladesh relations are flourishing in their own right, by and

large free from the Indian shadow (Singh, 2011).

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