Relationship dossier
Bangladesh
People's Republic of China
Relationship assessment
A broad partnership built around infrastructure, trade, and defence cooperation
Bangladesh toward People's Republic of China
+55Bangladesh has supported China’s One China policy and joined the Belt and Road Initiative. Its government has also pursued Chinese-backed infrastructure and energy projects, including cooperation on major transport links and power generation.
People's Republic of China toward Bangladesh
+55China has financed or supported major Bangladeshi infrastructure and energy projects, including the Padma Bridge rail link and the Karnaphuli River tunnel. It has also supplied defence equipment to Bangladesh and expanded the partnership through the 2016 strategic partnership.
Overall relationship
+55The relationship has a durable cooperative structure, with a strategic partnership and sustained practical collaboration in infrastructure, energy, and defence. The scale of Chinese-backed projects distinguishes the ties from a relationship based only on formal diplomacy. Trade imbalance and Bangladesh’s broader effort to balance external partnerships temper, but do not outweigh, this cooperation.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Bangladesh and China maintain a broad, cooperative partnership spanning infrastructure, trade, and defence. In 2016 they elevated ties to a strategic partnership, and Bangladesh has joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative and supported its One China policy. Chinese-backed infrastructure and energy projects have contributed to the relationship’s practical scope. The partnership operates alongside Bangladesh’s efforts to balance relations with other major powers, and trade is notably uneven.
Key developments
Bangladesh and China elevated their relationship to a strategic partnership during Xi Jinping’s visit to Bangladesh.
Bangladesh joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Chinese-backed cooperation supported major Bangladeshi infrastructure projects, including the Padma Bridge rail link and the Karnaphuli River tunnel.
Major uncertainties
- The current implementation and terms of major infrastructure and financing projects are unclear.
- The extent of recent defence cooperation and its policy implications are uncertain.