Md Saikat Hosen and Mohammad Saiyedul Islam: Bangladesh and China are strategic neighbouring countries, with India lying between them, and the Indo-Pacific gateway and the Bay of Bengal are vital to Bangladesh’s interests [1]. Bangladesh joined the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2016, becoming the 1st among the 2nd-largest South Asian standing economies. Bangladesh’s largest trade cooperation after 2006, with its immediate neighbour India, is now 2nd [2]. Bangladesh-India ties are fundamentally driven by the 5th-largest border-sharing and by trade and commerce negotiations that indicate competitive national interests [3].
Bangladesh and China celebrated 50 years of bilateral relations in 2025; now, the Bangladesh-China relationship is anchored in economic development, cultural exchange, defense cooperation, healthcare cooperation, and bilateral trade [4].
China has collaborated at the government-to-government level on economic development through the famous BRI project, and Chinese entrepreneurs have invested in Bangladesh’s firms, which has had positive effects by fostering trust and commitment from the ground [5]. In the meantime, Chinese infrastructural investment in Bangladesh, largely under the framework of the BRI, has significantly shaped the country’s economic development- altering patterns of trade, employment, business practices, financing norms, and public perceptions of foreign investment.
Chinese investment, unlike traditional aid, is a small investment. China’s infrastructure footprint includes mega-projects such as ports, highways, power plants, and special economic zones (SEZs). The projects influence not only economic development but also cultural exchange, workplace culture, and perceptions of risk and reward in business ventures [6].
Over 20,000 Bangladeshi students studied in Chinese universities. The student exchange program would decrease cultural distance for both nations [7]. The establishment of 2 Confucius Institutes and 1 Confucius Classroom in Bangladesh’s universities has positively affected cultural exchange between Bangladesh and China. Bangladesh-China economic culture is not far apart [8], where both countries are socially compatible, and mutual respect may diminish the remaining cultural distance [9].
China and Bangladesh established formal defense cooperation in 2002 [10]. Under the cooperation framework, the two countries agreed to deepen exchanges between their armed forces, including training, equipment, and technology sharing, as well as mutual naval visits and participation in United Nations peacekeeping missions. Bangladesh has become one of China’s top defense partners, accounting for approximately 72% of its total arms imports between 2019 and 2023, making it the 26th-largest arms buyer in the world.
The imports have included major military systems such as tanks, corvettes, patrol vessels, surface-to-air missiles, and fighter jets, reflecting a long-term pattern of procurement from China [11]. Bangladesh-China defense cooperation might continue to strengthen; Chinese involvement in airbase defense and radar development at Lalmonirhat will be ensured; and Bangladesh’s national security, as well as regional sustainability in South Asia [12].
Bangladesh-China healthcare cooperation has been established, relying on geopolitical circumstances in Indo- Pacific. The shifting healthcare system depends on trust, social value, and stability, which indicates that it is time-consuming [13]. China’s Ambassador announced that three hospitals had been designated specifically for Bangladeshi patients to improve medical service mechanisms, including streamlining visa procedures. Bangladesh-China health and medical development expo held in Dhaka in 2025; China has a monopoly over the medical equipment and spare parts ecosystem; now, advanced medical services for Bangladesh have been raised as a new destination for Bangladesh’s healthcare system [14].
In an increasingly polarized and unstable global order, Bangladesh has a geopolitical locational advantage in the Indo-Pacific gateway- Western powers have practiced power in the Bay of Bengal region. Border killing is massively soaring as well as smuggling, which are threats to the Bangladesh-China bilateral trade [15]. The Bangladeshi economy hardly relies on ready-made garments (RMG).
Most of the raw materials and equipment are dependent on Chinese suppliers and rely solely on the Chinese supply chain. Limited export diversification is creating a trade imbalance in bilateral trade, where China provides 99% duty-free access to Bangladeshi products [16]. Trade imbalance is negatively affected by long-term bilateral cooperation, in which Bangladesh should focus on its own manufacturing capacity for raw materials and equipment for ready-made garments (RMG) [17].
Bangladesh is highly populated, with a large youth population, which presents a significant opportunity to determine whether proper human capital formation will be achieved. The national security dilemma lessens through greater protection enabled by defense cooperation. Sustainable economic development encompasses social security, human capital formation, per capita income, and other elements that are prerequisites for regional security. Only massive economic development might mitigate Bangladesh’s regional security tensions, while China’s BRI projects are an important strategic member. Bangladesh would have adopted the Chinese economic development strategy, China’s open-up strategy, and the opinions of scholars.
Md Saikat Hosen is a PhD candidate in the School of International Economics and Politics at Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics.
Mohammad Saiyedul Islam, PhD, is a senior lecturer and researcher at the School of Overseas Education (School of Foreign Languages), Sanming University, Fujian province, and a senior research fellow at Daffodil International University Belt and Road Research Centre in Bangladesh.
