BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

BANGLADESH-CHINA RELATIONS: FROM CLOSER COMPREHENSIVE PARTNERSHIP TO STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

Author: Samia Zaman, Roksana Islam Sujana

DOI Link: https://www.doi.org/10.56888/BIISSj2017v38n2a3

ABSTRACT

The growing weight of China in terms of power and influence, defined either as a pole of attraction or as a pole of opposition, shapes the strategic environment of the Asia Pacific as well as the South Asian region. China has taken up its One Belt, One Road (OBOR) project, which is aimed at building trade and infrastructure network and ensuring access to trade and energy passage. It is both a development and diplomatic project for China focused on creating an economic and political sphere of influence not only in the region but also in the global context. Most countries in South Asia are engaged with this OBOR initiative. In this backdrop, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Bangladesh in October 2016. During the visit, Bangladesh joined the OBOR initiative and both the countries pledged to upgrade their relations from the existing ‘closer comprehensive partnership’ to ‘strategic partnership’. In this respect, the main objectives of this paper are to understand the strategic partnership in the context of Bangladesh-China relations, to identify the factors shaping Bangladesh-China strategic partnership and to explore the implications of this partnership for both Bangladesh and China. The paper also elucidates its regional ramifications.