On his first overseas tour, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman arrived in China after visiting Malaysia. The tour to the development partner country is being viewed with importance.
Global Times, the daily tabloid affiliated with the Communist Party of China’s People’s Daily, published a column about the challenges to further strengthening Bangladesh–China relations. The column has been written by Liu Zongyi, director of the Center for South Asia Studies.
Bangladeshi media outlets have expressed high expectations, reporting that more than 15 bilateral instruments are likely to be signed, covering major infrastructure and industrial projects.
China and Bangladesh are longstanding friends, neighbours and strategic cooperative partners. Over the past five decades since diplomatic ties were established, the two countries have built their relationship on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, emphasising mutual respect and equality, and offering an example of cooperation among developing nations.
At the political level, Dhaka and Beijing maintain frequent high‑level exchanges. In 2024, their ties were elevated to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.
Economically, China has been Bangladesh’s largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years and has extended zero‑tariff treatment to all taxable items exported from Bangladesh. In infrastructure, landmark projects such as the Padma Bridge have transformed Bangladesh’s transport network.
Regionally, the two countries cooperate to safeguard peace and stability and have worked together on the Rohingya issue. Their partnership under the Belt and Road Initiative has strengthened connectivity across South Asia, while platforms for poverty reduction and governance have been jointly advanced with other regional states.
Yet challenges remain in advancing the relationship further. The first stems from geopolitical competition, with some major powers attempting to draw Bangladesh into exclusive frameworks, interfering in domestic affairs, pressing for unequal agreements, and deploying narratives such as “debt traps” to undermine China–Bangladesh projects.
The second challenge lies in Bangladesh’s domestic political stability and policy continuity. The third involves perception gaps — public understanding of China in South Asia is limited, and some Bangladeshi elites, influenced by Western models, remain cautious about China’s development path and production‑capacity cooperation.
Others acknowledge the benefits of China’s model but worry about provoking the United States and Western partners. Narratives blaming the trade deficit solely on Chinese imports also overlook structural issues such as Bangladesh’s limited export diversity and capacity.
These obstacles are not insurmountable. Greater dialogue and exchanges are needed to bridge perception gaps, while Bangladeshi policymakers must show political courage to prioritise a “Bangladesh First” approach. Tarique’s visit is expected to signal to both nations and the wider international community Dhaka’s commitment to deepening cooperation with Beijing.
According to media reports, China has encouraged its enterprises to establish manufacturing bases in Bangladesh, leveraging labour‑cost advantages to produce high‑value goods for export.
The visit is expected to facilitate Bangladesh’s integration into Asian industrial chains and multilateral mechanisms. Platforms such as the China–South Asia Expo and trilateral cooperation with China and Pakistan can connect Bangladesh more deeply with regional economies.
Institutionalised exchanges among political parties, think tanks and local governments can help Bangladesh pursue a modernisation path suited to its own conditions, drawing from both Eastern and Western experiences.
These initiatives point toward a closer economic and strategic alignment between China and Bangladesh, with Rahman’s visit marking a potentially significant step in that direction.
