[ALOCHONA] Bangladesh-China Relations: A Summit Preview

Bangladesh-China Relations: A Summit Preview

Khaled Iqbal Chowdhury

Introduction:

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's upcoming visit to China has stirred a lot of interest and

raised expectations in the diplomatic arena. China is one of Bangladesh's largest trading

partners and China's contribution to Bangladesh's infrastructural development is also

noteworthy. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's China visit starting on 17 March 2010 is the

first top-level meeting between the two countries after Awami League won the general

elections in December, 2008. Therefore, the up-coming visit is attributed with immense

significance in terms of Sino-Bangladesh bilateral relations. Earlier, a high-level

delegation led by Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam visited China in

December 2009 and held meetings with senior Chinese leaders. According to media

sources, the Prime Minister's International Affairs adviser Professor Gowher Rizvi also

visited Beijing in 2009 in an effort to boost ties with the Government of China. China is a

growing power and it is in Bangladesh's interest not only to maintain but also to further

economic ties and other cooperative mechanisms with China. Many hope that the upcoming

summit-level meeting between Bangladesh and China will bring about qualitative

change in the nature of relations between the two countries.

Connectivity:

Today, we are living in an age of connectivity. Connectivity not only opens the way to

trade and commerce, but also plays a vital role in reinforcing relations among/between

neighbouring countries. During the Bangladeshi Prime Minister's recent visit to New

Delhi, Bangladesh offered India the use of Chittagong port facilities to transport goods.

The Joint Communiqué also noted that Bangladesh would offer similar facilities to Nepal

and Bhutan if India granted transit permission to these two countries. Now, if we can

connect with China through Myanmar, considering the magnitude of commercial

prospects, Bangladesh could become a commercial hub of South- and South-East Asia.

This will institute immense value to our economic growth. China's southwestern Yunnan

province is nearer to Chittagong than it is to Shanghai or Beijing. Allowing China to link

up with a Bangladeshi sea-port would be a lucrative offer to China's booming commerce.

As a result, Bangladesh's trade with China, Myanmar (and also with India, Nepal and

Bhutan) will burgeon dramatically. Currently, Bangladesh has a massive trade deficit

with two of its largest trading partnes - China and India. We believe that Bangladesh will

bring up the issue of connectivity when the two heads of the states meet in Beijing.

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Bangladesh in 2007 inked an agreement with Myanmar to construct a 25km-ong road to

connect the two countries. The project will eventually be expanded to link Bangladesh-

Myanmar-China into a tri-national network. When Bangladesh's Forign Minister Dipu

Moni visited Myanmar last year, she reiterated that the envisaged road network would

open up new avenues of exapanded regional trade and commerce. This will benefit all the

three countries concerned- China, Bangladesh and Myanmar. It will also help to develop

common stakes for these countries, stakes that none would find it in its interest to

compromise. Consequently, the existing strains in relations would likely wither away and

generate a win-win situation. We believe that the Prime Minister's China visit bears

immense significance in terms of regional diplomacy. The Bangladeshi side should

emphasise the connectivity issue for a fast-track implementation of the tri-nation road

network project. This is a realistic and affordable goal with significant gains for all sides.

Apart from road connections, Bangladesh may also want to explore the possibility of

connecting with East Asia through other modes of transportation. Recent reports suggest

that discussions have been underway to extend China's 'high-speed railway network' to 17

Asian and European countries along three routes.

These three routes are:

1. Kunming (Yunnan) - Myanmar - Singapore

2. Xinjiang - Central Asian 'Stans' - Germany

3. Liaoning - Russia - Europe

Discussions are at an advanced stage on the first route and the construction of this route is

expected to begin soon. If Bangladesh were able to link up with - or even get close to this

new railway network from Cox's Bazar-Teknaf area, Bangladesh's trade and tourism

prospects too would improve significantly.

Bangladesh fashioned a 'Look East' policy shift over a decade ago. However, it has failed

to substantively translate this policy into reality. Successful implementation of this policy

could open up new vistas of trade, commerce, economic, educational, scientifictechnological

and cultural collaboration with countries of South East Asia. Road and

railway linkages with South-East Asia via Myanmar would establish new pathways for

people, goods and ideas linking Bangladesh to the whole of the ASEAN-10 as well as

China. The potential of such connectivity to boost Bangladesh's economy is substantial

and the opportunity costs of not realising this potential is enormous.

Infrastructural Capacity Building:

The current government of Bangladesh has laid out Vision 2021 to mark the golden

jubilee of Bangladesh's independence. According to this 2021 vision, the government is

committed to elevating Bangladesh to a middle-income country by 2021. The plan also

envisages a Bangladesh with expanded road, rail, river and air transport and

telecommunication network. This is a noble vision but experts stress that it would require

significant increases in micro-level job creation via macro-level generation of

employment opportunities. It would require us to put in enormous effort to expand our

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existing infrastructural capacities- transport, energy and IT facilities- across the country.

This may sound ambitious but certainly not too farfetched. With proper motivation and

persistence Bangladesh can attain this vision. China has demonstrated its capacity and

effectiveness in these sectors over the past two decades. China has not only built its own

facilities, but also built cost-effective, energy-efficient installations in other developing

countries. Bangladesh needs to take advantage of this capacity, and we hope the Prime

Minister's China visit will open the way to a crucial breakthrough in this pursuit.

Tourism:

Tourism in Bangladesh remains one of the untapped areas. Bangladesh has immense

potential for tourism and can offer its magnificent Cox's Bazar-Teknaf coastal belt as an

unavoidable tourist destination to the world. Tourism potentials here are enormous but to

attract steady flows of foreign tourists, it would require substantial investment in

resources, planning sophistication, and technical expertise. China is not only able to

provide the required support but China has also expressed its willingness to do so on

many occasions. Cox's Bazar, with its longest uninterrupted natural beach in the world,

can become the most favoured tourist destination for the large middle classes with

disposable incomes from south-western Chinese provinces. Because of the advantage of

proximity – compared to coastal resorts in south-eastern China, a well-developed Cox's

Bazar would beat the competition hands down. If we can materialise this opportunity, a

steady revenue flow could be ensured to boost Bangladesh's over all tourism sector. All

we need to do is to lay out a comprehensive 'Tourism Policy' and to initiate negotiations

with the Chinese government in order to attract investment in this vital sector. This

possibility should be explored when the two heads of government meet in Beijing.

R&D Cooperation:

The Government of Bangladesh has vowed to build 'Digital Bangladesh' with a view to

overhauling the existing scientific-technological resource base of the country. Over the

past two decades, especially since 1986, China has made tremendous advancement in its

own scientific-technological resource base on the strength of which the current leadership

is focusing its 'scientific development' precept. This is an area where Bangladesh

government can seek and obtain assistance in helping to establish R&D centres in

Bangladesh, train Bangladeshi experts, transfer technology, and create Bagngladesh's

next generation of scientists for developing the country's scientific skills-base and

modernise its economy.

Trade and Investment:

China has already become the largest trading partner of Bangladesh supplanting India.

The Bangladesh-China bilateral trade volume increased from US$1.1 billion in 2002 to

US$4 billion in 2008 and is predicted to approach US$5 billion by the end of 2010; but

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the balance is tilted towards China. According to Bangladesh Bank sources, Bangladesh's

import payments to China during the July-September (2009) quarter exceeded US$917

million, whereas, the export receipts were only over US$23 million. Therefore, to reduce

the trade imbalance both the governments should initiate extensive talks immediately.

The Government of Bangladesh needs to take initiatives (trade expo etc.) to communicate

directly with the Chinese business community to expand our export volume to China.

New and large-scale Chinese investment in the country can play a major role in reversing

the current balance-of-payment status by turning it into Bangladesh's favour.

End Words:

Sino-Bangladeshi relations go back a long way. China has already made notable

contribution to the infrastructural developments of Bangladesh. China is already the third

largest economy of the world and has replaced Germany to become the largest exporter in

the world. Apart from its global role, China is increasingly becoming a major player in

the South Asian geopolitical affairs. Against this backdrop, the up-coming visit of Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina provides Bangladesh with an opportunity to present itself as a

major stakeholder in regional development and prosperity to China. We hope the visit

will boost already deepened Sino-Bangladeshi trade relations, bring both the countries

closer, and secure more Chinese assistance for our long-term economic development.

Khaled Iqbal Chowdhury

is working as a Research Analyst at the Bangladesh Institute of Peace and

Security Studies (BIPSS)

 

http://www.bipss.org.bd/download/bsr_bcr.pdf

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