The Making of Bangladesh-China Relations

Abstract

China’s aid and assistance policy has been focused on developing new production centres which can contribute to its manufacturing base. Further, it has been the endeavour of China to engage the south Asian countries so that it can reach out to the Indian Ocean region as well as explore political and economic synergies with the smaller countries of South Asia. China has espoused for connecting its southern provinces with South Asian countries through initiatives such as BCIM economic corridor while at the same time developing the port and road infrastructure of the lest developed nations. This would help China to promote trade and investment in the South Asian region as well as explore economies of scale through engaging the resources and labour of the low costs production centres. Under this pursuit, China has started engaging Bangladesh through political interactions, defence cooperation and engaging the country through economic and investment initiatives. For a country like Bangladesh which has been largely dependent on its select exports and remittances from its expatriate labour it needs to be seen how better relations with China would define its geo-political importance in the South Asian region. This paper explores the dynamics of the relationship and explores future potential of the relationship.