A deepening friendship

The frequent high-ranking visits between the two top leaders of China and Bangladesh reflect the high degree of mutual trust. It is also an important manifestation of the new vitality of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence (the Five Principles) in the new era.
PM Hasina’s visit comes shortly after the successful convening of the conference marking the 70th Anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence held in Beijing on June 28.
Seventy years ago, more than 20 Asian and African countries gathered in Bandung and proposed 10 principles for handling interstate relations, advocating the Bandung spirit of unity, friendship, and cooperation, reports DT.
Over the past 70 years, the Five Principles have been embraced by an ever-growing number of countries, evolving into open, inclusive, and universally applicable basic norms of international relations and fundamental principles of international law, guiding the continuous advancement of China-Bangladesh relations.
During her meeting with President Xi Jinping last August, Prime Minister Hasina stated that the excellent relations between Bangladesh and China were based on mutual respect and noninterference in each other’s internal affairs.
Over the past 49 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China has not only refrained from meddling in Bangladesh’s internal affairs but also opposed external interference, jointly safeguarding each other’s core interests.
During Bangladesh’s parliamentary election earlier this year, China consistently adhered to the principle of noninterference and fully respected the choice of the Bangladeshi people. In contrast, on the eve of the election, the US Department of State called for fair, just, transparent, and democratic elections in Bangladesh. After PM Hasina’s victory in the election, the US Department of State criticized the election as not being free and fair.
This led to PM Hasina’s public statement in May 2024 where she revealed that she was offered a “smooth return to power” in exchange for leasing the country’s land for a foreign airbase. Although she did not disclose the name of the country that made the offer, it is widely believed that the offer would have come from the United States.
Over the past 49 years, China-Bangladesh cooperation has continued to deepen, with mutually beneficial and win-win outcomes. China has remained Bangladesh’s largest trading partner and the largest source of imports for 13 consecutive years, and it is also an important source of raw materials for Bangladesh’s manufacturing industry. Moreover, Bangladesh is China’s second largest trading partner in South Asia.
 Since Bangladesh joined the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2016, bilateral trade between China and Bangladesh has grown from $15.3 billion in 2016 to $27.8bn in 2022, reaching a new historical high.
China is also Bangladesh’s second largest source of foreign investment. Since 2016, the stock of Chinese investment in Bangladesh has soared from $241m to $1.346bn in 2022. As of September 2023, the total amount of Chinese investment in Bangladesh reached $3.17bn, with 21 bridges and 27 power projects implemented in the country. A large number of flagship projects, such as the Padma Bridge and the Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant, have been successfully completed, providing a boost to Bangladesh’s economic development.
Currently, more than 670 Chinese enterprises are investing and operating in Bangladesh, driving employment for over 550,000 locals and benefiting the local population with the dividends of development. According to Bangladeshi scholars, in recent years, there has been a surge in the number of Chinese enterprises investing in Bangladesh, and the number of Chinese people in Bangladesh has increased significantly. This has made Bangladesh a new “hot land” for Chinese investment in South Asia.
There are also high expectations for PM Hasina’s China trip, both among Chinese and Bangladeshi experts. It is hoped that China’s Global Development Initiative (GDI) will push forward China-Bangladesh trade and investment cooperation to a new level and enhance Bangladesh’s transportation, power, and energy infrastructure, as well as its digital economy and blue economy development.
We also look forward to promoting the strategic docking of China’s GDI, BRI, and Bangladesh’s “Vision 2041” and the dream of “Shonar Bangla,” thereby making more robust economic ties between the two countries, yielding even more fruitful, mutually beneficial, and win-win results for both sides.
Due to the fierce strategic confrontation between China and the United States, China and Bangladesh have also strengthened their policy communication on several international and regional issues based on their common interests. In April 2023, Bangladesh announced its “Indo-Pacific Outlook,” distancing itself from the United States’ “Indo-Pacific Strategy.” This reflects a neutral position of Bangladesh amid China-US competition rather than a swing to the US.
Two months later, Bangladesh officially applied to join the BRICS, a fast-growing global organization founded by China, Russia, India, Brazil, and South Africa. In response, China has expressed full support for Bangladesh’s early admission as a new member of the BRICS.
Under China’s diplomatic mediation, Bangladesh and Myanmar signed an agreement on the repatriation of Rohingya refugees in 2017. During the past seven years, Bangladesh has made great contributions to jointly solving the Rohingya crisis. As the Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen said, China understands and sympathizes with the tremendous costs that Bangladesh has borne regarding the Rohingya issue and strives to restart the repatriation process for Rohingya refugees.
Peng Nian is a researcher at the Research Centre for Indian Ocean Island Countries, South China University of Technology, and director of the Hong Kong Research Center for Asian Studies.