[🇧🇩] China's Belt and Road Initiative------What it means for Bangladesh.

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A recent report estimated that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will help Bangladesh's real gross domestic product (GDP) growth by at least 2.1 per cent, generate an additional 2.5 per cent to 5.1 per cent of employment, and decrease extreme poverty by 1.3 per cent.

The report, titled ‘The Belt and Road in Bangladesh Achievements and Way Forward,’ was published in Dhaka on Thursday by the Chinese embassy in Bangladesh.

The report said that the BRI activities in Bangladesh primarily encompass three areas: infrastructure development, energy and power collaboration, and social and cultural exchange.

Taking the examples of the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project, the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel, and the Expansion and Strengthening of Power System Network, the report said estimations based on different modeling approaches indicate substantial positive effects on GDP, trade, employment generation and poverty reduction, reports Xinhua.

According to the report, depending on the specific scenarios considered, the BRI projects are projected to create an additional 1.8 million to 3.6 million employment opportunities.

Meanwhile, the report said that the BRI offers an additional opportunity for Chinese investment and financing in infrastructure and connectivity projects, which can stimulate Bangladesh's supply response and external competitiveness.

It demonstrated BRI's "transformative power in driving economic growth and uplifting communities from poverty," said the report.

Also, the report called on both countries to collaborate to improve the ease of doing business, identify and eliminate investment barriers, and establish a favorable legal framework to protect the rights and interests of investors and consumers.​

"The investment made by BRI will continue to contribute to development initiatives of Bangladesh competitive in the future and will help to achieve vision 2041," said Mannan.

"As we have seen for the past few years, the BRI has changed the landscape of Bangladesh," stated the message by Bangladesh's commerce minister Tipu Munshi, adding that the investment in the power sector enabled Bangladesh to realize 100 percent electrification.

The investment in the digital sector has also brought the dream of Digital and Smart Bangladesh one step closer, and the investment in roads and railways has transformed the trade landscape in Bangladesh and ensured faster connectivity throughout the country and the South Asian region as well, said the commerce minister.

Yao Wen, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh, stated in the report's message, "I am convinced that under the framework of BRI, more and more Chinese enterprises and people will devote themselves to the goal of Smart Bangladesh, proposing Chinese solutions and making even more contributions to the realisation of 'Vision 2041'."​

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China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been a pivotal force in infrastructure development for the developing world, especially the emerging economies. In September 2013, China's President Xi announced the One Belt and One Road Initiative (OBOR), which later became titled as the BRI. This year marks the 10th anniversary of this initiative that continues to be implemented across the world raising a multitude of discourses, both critical and positive, centred around it.


The BRI has emerged as one of the world's most ambitious and debated development initiatives. Of the over USD one trillion investment, a large portion of which is directed towards traditional infrastructure, including transport (e.g., roads, railways) and energy, is a key element of planning and implementing these emerging economies' growth and progress objectives. As of now, 148 countries have signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with China regarding the BRI. These agreements indicate a desire to collaborate with China on the initiative's five pillars, which include investment, trade, and 'people-to-people' exchanges. Despite Italy's 2023 announcement to exit the BRI, most of Asia, Africa, and significant parts of Latin America remain steadfast in their support. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimated earlier that the BRI would likely add $1 trillion in funding across the world between 2017 and 2027; the World Bank estimates that between 2013 and 2018 BRI investment including energy projects was about $575 billion. African countries praise the project, whereas countries like India and the US accused China of engaging in 'debt trap diplomacy' - aiming to own countries' assets if they are unable to repay the loans. Bangladesh has not been immune to this discussion as well.

As various organisations in Bangladesh continue discussing the merits and demerits of the BRI, the Centre for Alternatives recently held a similar event, where the issue of debt trap was discussed comprehensively. It must be concluded that the West-painted narrative of the Chinese debt trap has very different sources that the western influenced media would have one believe. Underscoring the fact that the term "debt trap" is a politically coined with origins arguably attributed to either Indian or US sources. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka (SL) is primed as the key example of Chinese debt trap, and the media discourse strengthens this narrative extensively. However, deeper, and objective analysis for the heavy foreign debt burden on SL was international capital market borrowing (mainly for infrastructure development) that began in earnest following the end of the civil was in SL. This type of borrowing accounted for about 47 per cent of the foreign debt that had strict repayment schedules.

If WB and ADB borrowings are added, it accounts for about 69 per cent of SL's foreign borrowing. Internal policies, prime one to exacerbate the situation was agriculture policy of SL, weakened the SL situation further, drowning SL in a situation for which China was allegedly and incorrectly convicted of being responsible. Bangladesh is undergoing its own financial difficulties and mismanagement conundrums, but the Chinese investments are not seemingly the cause for it. Bangladesh's internal corruption nexus is likely the reason for unfathomable increase in the prices of the mega projects that China has funded, and of course, the Chinese counterparts are likely to have catalysed the corruption by encouraging it further. However, the way the BRI projects are funded does not seem like a debt trap. The policymakers, and the implementers' mismanagement of funds and project implementation may cause financial challenges in the mid to long run, but the BRI funding at its core does not promote any instability.

The five pillars of BRI that include policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and people-to-people contact-building supplemented with the political commitment that a fund recipient country needs to have, all these structurally make the BRI pivot on stability. Added to the challenge of it being from China that causes geopolitical stress to the West and the US mainly, the investment recipients must have an internal stability, and the Chinese policy makers also need to base their funding decisions that afford stability to the host country. This is with the caveat that building infrastructure is never risk-free. Any large initiative like the BRI having thousands of infrastructure projects will have many failures as well as success stories. India, and later several others have pointed out issues concerning debt trap, lack of transparency and sustainability of BRI projects. The encouraging feature is China has modified some of its funding in Africa to include green financing, showing that China is open to adapt to the needs of the time.

In Bangladesh, Chinese investments, and its future investment commitments have certainly fostered economic growth towards its probable potential. The Chinese investments, as well as the US, South Korean, Russian, and other investments have certainly emboldened Bangladesh's economic growth and financial stability in the last decade. Of course, financial mismanagement and corruption in the process of implementing these projects and fund management is certainly a grave concern, but our own internal vulnerabilities are more culpable for these situations to occur.

Under the BRI, Bangladesh is to receive $26 billion and $14 billion for joint venture projects, totaling a $40 billion package. Bangladesh has primarily seen BRI projects in the energy and transportation sectors, with infrastructure investment needs projected to reach 1.5 per cent of GDP by 2040. Padma Bridge, Metrorail, Karnaphuli Tunnel have been the key feathers in China-Bangladesh bilateral engagement's success caps. The 12 highways and 21 bridge projects, symbolised by the Padma Multipurpose Bridge, serve as extensions of the modern-day 'Silk Road' within Bangladesh. From road to rail to seaport and airport, under-river tunnel to elevated expressway, water utility to e-governance, military, coal to solar energy, China makes its presence felt everywhere in Bangladesh with funds, technology, and expertise. In the last 10 years, China has released $4.45 billion for 35 projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), informs the Chinese Ambassador. Not only that, according to the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a US think tank, the total investment from China in Bangladesh is $7.07 billion. In addition, Chinese companies have received construction contracts worth $22.94 billion in different sectors. These Chinese investments generate about 550,000 employments in Bangladesh. Given the trajectory, China is likely to surpass the US and become the largest investor in Bangladesh soon. This may raise several eyebrows in the Western bloc, and the media would have a field day, doing its usual war games exercise of analysing how this would translate into the ongoing US-China global competition, or global war as they would imply it.

However, the current world and the evolved globalisation underscores a different reality as the media machinery would have one perceive. Ideas such as de-coupling, aligning with one power over the other, and more are real, but their manifestation are less vivid and concerning as the media would have it. The India-China trade relations, the way US and other countries industries still depend on the Chinese manufacturing, this does not signify the dichotomous assessment that media, propagandists, and alarmists would have one believe. The mere fact is that globalisation has evolved from an interconnected information nexus, and marketplace to an interdependent production network. Each product is now made not only in place, or all its materials sourced from one place, rather a conglomeration of production mechanisms, and material sourcing from across multiple nations is a norm now. This situation creates interdependence among competing states and does not allow them to completely de-couple and disengage from each other. This simple realisation does not allow any country to look at things in the form of "either with us or against us." It was tried once in the early 2000s, and it failed miserably, as it did during the cold war. This realisation and central strategic point in Bangladesh's diplomacy and foreign affairs has allowed the country to maneuver the geopolitical challenges, successfully maintaining the country's foreign policy of friendship to all, malice to none. Bangladesh has successfully and boldly made everyone understand that "your enemy is your enemy, not mine; my friend may be your enemy, but it does not affect my friendship with you." Bangladesh has aptly maneuvered and avoided the dichotomy that many, especially the media would have made one believe that exists in the world.

We are now seen as a key participant not only in geoeconomics, but also geopolitics of this region, and the world. This has allowed Bangladesh the opportunity to become a key nexus of engagement, alignment, and adaptability between the Indo-Pacific Strategies of many, and the Chinese BRI. It should be noted that none of the IPS signify Bangladesh as a priority country; in fact, none of them even mention Bangladesh. However, the BRI does give importance to Bangladesh significantly. Thus, for Bangladesh to have greater focus on BRI not only for the importance of it renders to Bangladesh, but also the funds that it commits to Bangladesh, is nothing but logical.

Thus, Bangladesh should continue giving extra focus on any BRI projects underscoring the benefits, and how quickly and efficiently the repayment of loans can be made. There should a higher degree of 1.5 diplomatic engagements among the Chinese and Bangladesh intelligentia, and academia to forge better understanding of the BRI, and its projects in Bangladesh that will not only benefit Bangladesh, but the whole region, and especially India for its regional connectivity priorities. Making BRI projects more transparent, profitable, and leveraging on the strategic benefits of the projects in the long-run need to be the key focus.​

From road to rail to seaport and airport, under-river tunnel to elevated expressway, water utility to e-governance, coal to solar energy, China makes its presence felt everywhere in Bangladesh with funds, technology, and expertise.

According to an estimate by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a US think tank, the total investment from China in Bangladesh is $7.07 billion. In addition, Chinese companies have received construction contracts worth $22.94 billion in different sectors.

In the last 10 years, China has released $4.45 billion for 35 projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), said Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen.

At a recent programme in Dhaka, the Chinese envoy said the BRI investments in Bangladesh are contributing to the improvement of people's living standards.

China is implementing 21 bridges and 27 power projects in Bangladesh. Around 670 Chinese companies have invested in the country. China will participate in many of Bangladesh's 100 economic zones.

Apart from the government, Bangladesh's private sector has also taken loans from China. According to data from the Bangladesh Bank, the status of Chinese loans in the country's private sector is slightly higher than $2.33 billion. The majority of the loans go to the power and energy sector.

BRI fuelled investment

Chinese President Xi Jinping launched both the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiatives in 2013. Afterwards, these together were termed the Belt and Road Initiative.

The initiative's objective is to build connectivity and cooperation across six main economic corridors, including the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor.

During President Xi's visit in 2016, a number of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and agreements were signed between Bangladesh and China. Under the BRI, Bangladesh will receive $26 billion for BRI projects and $14 billion for joint venture projects, totalling a $40 billion package.

Bangladesh has primarily seen BRI projects in the energy and transportation sectors, with infrastructure investment needs projected to reach 1.5% of GDP by 2040.

"The 12 highways and 21 bridge projects, symbolised by the Padma Multipurpose Bridge, serve as extensions of the modern-day 'Silk Road' within Bangladesh," Yao Wen said at an event in Dhaka organised to mark the 10th anniversary of the BRI.

He highlighted 27 power and energy projects, municipal initiatives, manufacturing, and agricultural ventures as "lighthouses" guiding the enduring cooperation between the two nations.

China has significantly contributed to Bangladesh's road transport infrastructure, including the impressive Padma Bridge and the ground-breaking Bangladesh Karnaphuli River Tunnel Project.

Notable road and bridge projects include the Paksey Bridge, Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge, Dhaka Bypass, Dhaka-Khulna (N8) Project, Dhaka Elevated Expressway, and Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Highway Project.

Additionally, there are seven railway lines, including the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project, the Tongi to Bhairab double-track line, and the Dohazari to Cox's Bazar Railway.

Chinese enterprises have played a significant role in 27 power and energy projects; their investments span diverse energy fields, including coal, solar, and wind power plants, thus promoting a diversified energy mix. Notable projects include the Payra 1320MW ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant.

Among the BRI projects, the most notable are the Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant Project in Dhaka, the Single Point Mooring (SPM) with Double Pipeline Expansion project at Maheshkhali, and Cox's Bazar Airport.

Abdur Razzak, chairman of the private research organisation RAPID, said, "There are 70 countries under the BRI. We want to benefit from this investment. We have a lack of infrastructure. More development is needed in that area. China has maintained its position in world trade. We have to utilise this opportunity."

He also said the country's GDP will increase by 2% to 4% if $10 billion is invested in the BRI projects. If the project is implemented globally, Bangladesh's commercial expenses will decrease in 75 countries.

Job creation and beyond

Ke Changliang, president of the Chinese Enterprises Association in Bangladesh, which includes over 670 Chinese firms operating in various sectors.

In the EPZ area, about 25% of investors are Chinese; so far, these enterprises have created approximately 600,000 employment opportunities for Bangladeshis, he added.

In recent times, the investment of Chinese companies in Bangladesh has increased significantly.

According to the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida), at least 15 Chinese companies have brought direct investment to Bangladesh in the last year alone. Besides, another $1.5 billion worth of FDI proposals came last year.

Data from the Bangladesh Bank shows the country's yearly growth in FDI from China stood at 13.5%. In 2015, FDI from China was only $56 million, which in seven years has increased 11.5 times.

"We are tirelessly working to bring in big investments from China, and we are getting good responses," said Lokman Hossain Miah, executive chairman of Bida.

Bangladesh will see increased investment in the textile and clothing sectors in the coming days as the business environment has marked tremendous improvement in recent years, said Calvin Ngan, president of the Overseas Chinese Association in Bangladesh (Ocab).

China a major trade partner

China is now Bangladesh's largest trading partner. The trade volume between the two countries is about $25 billion. Bangladesh mainly imports capital machinery and raw materials from China.

On the other hand, Bangladesh exports vegetables, frozen and live fish, leather and leather products, textile fibres, paper yarn and woven fabrics, garments, and apparel items to the country.

China implemented duty-free facilities on 97% of Bangladeshi products on 1 July 2020. Later, it was increased to 98%. The export of crabs and eels to China resumed last July. By exporting these two items, Bangladesh earns about $50 million a year from China.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said, "China is Bangladesh's largest trading partner. Leather, ICT, and light engineering sectors can be potential sectors for Chinese investors.

Govt establishing special economic zone for Chinese firms

To give special benefits to Chinese investors, the government is establishing a special economic zone on about 783 acres of land in the Anwara upazila of Chattogram.

When the project is completed, it is expected that employment opportunities will be created for approximately two lakh people.

Shaikh Yusuf Harun, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority, said many Chinese companies have already shown interest in investing here.

Al Mamun Mridha, acting secretary-general of the Bangladesh China Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also said they are trying to bring large investments to the Chinese Economic Zone.​

November 19, 2020
Published in Dhaka Tribune on 19 November 2020
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The Chinese President Xi Jinping launched both the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiatives in 2013. Afterwards, these were termed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Also known as the New Silk Road, the BRI is an ambitious infrastructure project which stretches from East Asia to Europe.

The initiative’s objective is to build connectivity and cooperation across six main economic corridors. These are: (1) New Eurasia Land Bridge (NELB); (2) China-Mongolia-Russia (CMR) Economic Corridor; (3) China-Central Asia-West Asia (CAWA) Economic Corridor; (4) China-Indochina Peninsula (ICP) Economic Corridor; (5) China-Pakistan (CP) Economic Corridor; (6) China-Bangladesh-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor.

Through the BRI, China intends to engage in the global economy mainly through investments in infrastructure. China plans to rebuild the land network connecting China to Europe via Central Asia (“One Belt”) and the maritime route from China to Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Africa (“One Road”). By the end of July 2019, a total of 136 countries and 30 international organizations had signed 194 cooperation documents with China to build a “Belt and Road” cooperation document.

Bangladesh is connected with the BRI through the BCIM economic corridor which was formally endorsed during the first inter-governmental study group meeting in Kunming held in December 2013. The corridor covers 1.65 million square kilometres, and includes about 440 million people. It connects China’s Yunnan province, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Kolkata in India through road, rail, water, and air linkages.

The BCIM initiative had the ambition to build regional cooperation through building an economic corridor connecting the sub-regions of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. Connectivity through the BCIM economic corridor has the potential to benefit the North East Indian states through trade with Yunnan province.

Bangladesh can also benefit through linkages with the North East Indian region and Yunnan. Moreover, BCIM has the potential for benefiting from the blue economy and international maritime trade through the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In order for the BRI to be successful, operationalization of the BCIM is important.
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A number of measures have been rolled out to materialize the ideas embedded in the BRI. During the visit of the Chinese president to Bangladesh in October 2016, an understanding was reached regarding implementation of various government to government (G2G) and business to business (B2B) projects. In total, China promised about $40 billion investment in Bangladesh. An amount of $24.45bn was in bilateral assistance for infrastructure projects and $13.6bn in joint ventures. In addition, $20bn in loan agreements was committed.

In 2016, Bangladesh and China signed eight projects costing more than $9.45bn financed by China. These include: Padma Bridge rail link worth $3.3bn; the power plant in Payra worth $1.9bn; digital connectivity worth $1bn, and power grid network strengthening project worth $1.32bn.

Bangladesh’s first toll road project was signed on December 6, 2018. The government of Bangladesh had signed a contract with a China-Bangladesh consortium to upgrade the 48-kilometre-long Dhaka Bypass Road to a dual carriageway. The objective was to improve connectivity between the north and northwest parts of Bangladesh and the Chittagong Port.

This toll road was only one of the many transportation projects which China was investing in Bangladesh. During the period 2009-2019, China has invested an estimated $9,750mn in various transportation projects in Bangladesh.

As part of Bangladesh government’s initiative on establishing Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone (CEIZ) is being developed in Anwara Upazila of Chittagong district on a land of 783 acres. State-run China Harbour Engineering Company holds 70% share in the joint venture. CEIZ will be the first specialized G2G economic zone.
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Bangladesh has increasingly been connected with the Chinese economy through trade, investment, and cultural exchanges during the last decade or so.

Investment and financial integration: Due to the rapid pace of growth of the Bangladesh economy, the infrastructure investment need as a percentage of GDP is expected to fall in the coming years. However, the difference between the infrastructure investment need and the current trends of infrastructure investment in Bangladesh is predicted to be more than 1% of GDP.

Sectoral decomposition of infrastructure investment needs shows that the greatest need for investment in Bangladesh are in the energy and transport sectors. Predictions show that in 2040, infrastructure investment needs of the energy and transport sectors will be around 1.5% and 1% of GDP. The largest proportion of BRI projects in Bangladesh are in the energy and transport sectors. Thus, BRI has the potential to fill in the infrastructure gaps in Bangladesh.

In fiscal year 2019, Bangladesh witnessed a record high net foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow of $3,232.89mn between the months of July-March. This surge in FDI was largely driven by Chinese investment. During the period January-March 2019, Chinese net FDI inflow amounted to $396.99mn, which was 38.34% of total net FDI inflow into Bangladesh during that period.

In April 2018, Alipay, a concern of China’s e-commerce and tech giant Alibaba Group, bought 20% stakes in bKash, Bangladesh’s largest mobile financial service provider.

Trade: China had not been one of the traditional markets for Bangladeshi exports. However, since the third quarter of 2010, China has become the biggest import partner for Bangladesh, overtaking the place previously held by India. In 2018, China was the largest trading partner of Bangladesh with a share of 18.94% of total trade. This was almost double the amount of trade with India and more than the trade with the US and Germany combined.

Cultural exchange: One of the five components of the BRI is cultural exchange. Through means of knowledge sharing, research collaboration, and strengthening of people-to-people bonds, China is expanding cultural exchanges between the countries using the BRI. Since the declaration of BRI in 2013, there has been a steady increase in the number of Chinese government scholarships offered to foreign students.

Since the inception of BRI, the number of Bangladeshi students pursuing higher education in Chinese universities has grown rapidly over the years. For example, 4,905 more Bangladeshi students went to study in China in 2016, compared to 2015.

Chinese government scholarships are offering lucrative higher education opportunities to students from Bangladesh. Since the start of BRI, the number of Confucius institutes all over the world has increased from 440 in 2013 to 548 in 2018.

On the other hand, the number of Confucius classrooms has increased from 646 in 2013 to 1,193 in 2018. The increase in the demand for learning the Chinese language has been driven not only through cultural exchange, but also through other components of BRI, such as trade and investment.
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Debt issue: Sustainable financing of the BRI projects in the participating countries is an important issue. Chinese government has provided debt relief to countries which have been suffering from debt distress, on a case-by-case manner. Major official creditors actively participate in multilateral mechanisms dealing with sovereign defaults, in particular the Paris Club.

China is not a member, but an observer at meetings of the Paris Club. There are several examples of how China has approached debt issues in various countries. According to the IMF, China was a creditor to 31 of the 36 heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC), and it provided relief in at least 28 of them, including 100% forgiveness for several (for example, Burundi, Afghanistan, and Guinea). In case of Sri Lanka, China agreed in July 2017 to a debt-for-equity swap for $8nn loan and a 99-year lease for managing the Hambantota Port.

The external debt of Bangladesh fell from 20% of GDP in 2007 to 15% of GDP in 2015, but rose again to 17% of GDP in 2018. The absolute amount of outstanding external debt has also increased from $19354.81mn in 2007 to $33,511.83mn in 2018.

Despite the recent trend of increasing external debt, Bangladesh’s good debt servicing record has ensured that external debt has not piled up. The total debt service as a percentage of total exports decreased from 8.6% in 2013 to 3.9% in 2018.

Environmental concerns: While the BRI has the potential to bring in positive economic development, it may cause irreversible damage to the environment as the infrastructure may threaten the eco-systems and the livelihoods of the people who depend on environmental resources surrounding them. However, China’s own national sustainability commitments could be used across the whole of BRI.

Making its environmental guidelines mandatory overseas, China can improve local standards in the developing countries where they work. President Xi Jinping’s concept of “ecological civilization” could contribute to environmental governance. China is developing its green financing system. The green “One Belt, One Road” demonstrates China’s responsibility for global ecological security and sustainable development.

A positive sign is that 58.3% of BRI transport sector construction contracts are in railways, which are relatively environment-friendly, compared to other modes of transportation. However, 38.05% of BRI construction contracts in the energy sector are in coal, which is highly damaging to the environment. Around 56% of China’s total investment in Bangladesh is in the energy sector, and more precisely — in coal. Such large investment in coal-based energy sector projects may have adverse impacts on the environment. BRI is partly responsible for the soaring investment in renewable energy worldwide. So China could have made more BRI investment in renewable energy in Bangladesh.

Transparency: Lack of open, transparent, and competitive procurement processes can lead to poor performance of projects in terms of missing timeline, cost overrun, and low quality services. The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) score of Transparency International indicates that the perceived corruption in the Belt and Road corridor economies is higher than the global average and higher among lower middle and low income countries. Increased transparency in procurement process and other compliance can benefit BRI projects in terms of co-financing by other financial sources including the multilateral development agencies.

In response to accusations that it lacked transparency, facilitated corruption, and that some projects contributed to pollution, a number of initiatives were announced at the 2nd Belt and Road Forum in Beijing held in April 2019, such as “The Beijing Initiative for Clean Silk Road.” This initiative calls for international cooperation to promote transparency and integrity, and combat corruption. The “Green Investment Principles (GIPs) for the Belt and Road” calls for environment-friendly, climate resilient, and socially inclusive investments under the new BRI projects. The Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China had published a Debt Sustainability Framework (DSF) for Participating countries of the BRI in April 2019.
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BRI holds promises to deliver physical and soft infrastructure to foster connectivity and economic development across its corridors. For Bangladesh too, BRI provides an opportunity to seize benefits, particularly in areas of trade, investment, connectivity, education, and tourism, through strong ties with countries particularly in the Southern Asian region, and more specifically, with China and India.

The Kunming to Kolkata corridor can reduce costs of transport and benefit Bangladesh through enhanced trade and investment. This will create opportunities for employment and income. Bangladesh’s enhanced competitive strength through BRI will help it become better integrated into the global economy. Bangladesh needs huge resources to build the required transport infrastructure to be connected with the BCIM corridor.

Implementation of BRI projects will require trade facilitation reforms. Some of these measures include standardization and harmonization of procedures and regulations across countries, improvement of trade facilitation and logistics at the border, cross-border electronic data exchange, speedy customs clearance, customs cooperation, and measures to ensure security of people, vehicles, and cargo on the move.

Vast quantities of resources will need to be mobilized to build the needed transport infrastructure. Bangladesh has to mobilize domestic resources through tax reform and public-private partnerships. Selection and planning of BRI projects should be sound, with a full understanding of the economic and social benefits that will be created through such projects. In order to address the challenges associated with the BRI projects, the government of Bangladesh should implement the BRI projects through on open, transparent, and competitive contracting and procurement process in order to ensure the quality of the projects.

For timely completion of projects and for minimizing cost overrun, public disclosure of BRI projects’ terms and conditions of finance, monitoring, reporting, and anti-corruption measures should be in-built in the project implementation mechanism.
Debts should be managed well and debt sustainability issue should be closely monitored in order to avoid any possible debt traps. For green and clean governance mechanisms in the BRI projects, financing and environmental information should be disclosed in advance, and on a continuous basis.

Social and environmental impact assessments of projects should be done through meaningful and informed participation and engagement of local people. On the whole, while the BRI projects hold high promises for economic development, the outcome will be determined by the way Bangladesh plans and executes these high value projects.​

The Daily Star and Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS) jointly organised a roundtable titled “Belt and Road Initiative: Perspective from Bangladesh” on July 24, 2019. Here we publish a summary of the discussion.

Major General A N M Muniruzzaman, ndc, psc (Retd), President, BIPSS and moderator of the session

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a major undertaking. In the words of President Xi Jinping “This is the project of the century”. It encompasses all three continents in a network of roads and sea-routes. More than 120 countries have already signed and joined BRI. Bangladesh is also a signatory country of BRI and also is an important strategic member. During the visit of President Xi Jinping to Bangladesh in 2016, a number of MoUs and agreements were signed between Bangladesh and China. Under the BRI projects, Bangladesh will receive $26 billion USD for BRI projects and $14 billion USD for joint venture project, together totaling to a $40 billion USD package. Bangladesh is a strategic maritime nation and occupies a critical access position to the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean. Therefore, one of the six economic corridors of BRI will pass through Bangladesh; it happens to be one of the two maritime corridors of BRI. This corridor, which starts at Kunming passes through Myanmar, enters Indian north-east and through Bangladesh, ending up in Kolkata. There is, however, some doubt and confusion regarding this corridor as this was not mentioned in the post second BRI Summit declaration in April this year. BRI has entered a new phase, since the vision was first declared by President Xi Jinping in Astana, Kazakhstan in 2013 and it was explained during his visit to Jakarta, Indonesia. It has been over five years since the work of the mega project started. In the second BRI Summit held in Beijing this year President Xi Jinping gave a number of policy directives regarding implementation of BRI. Projects in the coming years, according to his vision, all BRI projects should also be clean and green, meaning there will be zero tolerance for any corrupt practice. Projects should be environmentally sensitive, not causing any environmental damage. A number of initiatives were also declared; notable amongst them are, Belt and Road Studies Network (BRSN), Belt and Road News Network (BRNN), Belt and Road Energy Partnership (BREP) and Digital Silk Road Initiative (DSRI) to name a few.

There is also a major emphasis now on digital BRI. In this age, connectivity through physical network is no longer sufficient. Countries under BRI must be digitally connected. Therefore, a BRI digital super highway will be built. All BRI partners should re-evaluate and nations must exercise responsible borrowing so that they do not fall in the so called debt trap. BRI is happening at a time when the global system is going through a flux and major changes are taking place in the international system. It is a complex world and as a member country of BRI, Bangladesh has to move carefully, critically judging the situation and all its consequences. We should try and get the best benefit of this major strategy which can be truly called a grand strategy. There are risk factors involved in these initiatives and decision should be based on our national interest.

Md Touhid Hossain, Former Foreign Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh

We should understand the significance of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as a geopolitical concept. China has played an influential role in Africa in recent times. This approach led to unstoppable rise of China. There were setbacks for China in Maldives and Sri Lanka. China’s influence in South China Sea is growing. In this region, ASEAN also have a role to play when comes to regional cooperation. BRI is not going to immediately bring substantial change for Bangladesh as the effectiveness of this strategy depends on the combined effort of the partners in the region. India has not been a part of BRI in fear of being encircled by China. BRI has triggered a conflict of interests between India and USA. China is growing more powerful day by day both in terms of economy and military. Countries can find it hard to repay any loan under the conditions of BRI. There are limitations to pay back the grossly overpriced projects. We should look for partners such as China to resolve the Rohingya conflict while being more practical on the connectivity routes and their benefits.

Dr S K Tawfique M. Haque, Director, South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG), Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

There are changes that indicate the economic slowdown of China. The over capacity and huge foreign exchange reserve of China played a crucial role in the process of economic slowdown. USA is now putting emphasis on containment strategy to counter the rise of Chinese initiatives such as Belt and Road Initiative. Chinese strategy of Belt and Road Initiative is based on economic, cultural and geopolitical interests, irrespective of the divergent discussions. BRI is going to expand the horizons of connectivity, trade and infrastructure. There are also risks concerned with environmental degradation and debt trap. BCIM corridor was proposed by Rehman Sobhan in 1999. Bangladesh needs support from China for infrastructural development, trade and business. Bangladesh should be patient to wait for the outcome of BRI. There should be more discussion about Chinese investment in Bangladesh. There are differences between China and Pakistan on the issues regarding BRI. There are several researches coming out on BRI. Bangladesh should not be over dependent on any country for resolving the ongoing Rohingya crisis.

Parvez Karim Abbasi, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, East West University

The news of the demise of the USA as a superpower is greatly exaggerated. The recent Trump led trade war and the Huawei incident proves that its economic prowess is still formidable. The USA was the largest economy (in terms of Purchasing Power Parity) from 1871-2014. The Indo-Pacific Strategy is a reflection of its aspirations to retain its superpower status.
However, it is an incontrovertible fact that China is closing the gap fast between itself and USA and the Belt and Road Initiative is a concrete manifestation of the Chinese economic clout. A few facts and figures will amply illustrate that phenomenon. In 1900, the Chinese economy was 6 percent of US economy. By the year 2011, the Chinese economy became 50 percent of US economy. The Chinese economy is expected to exceed US economy and account for 25 percent of global economy by 2050. China is the biggest export market for 43 countries. The country is also the largest exporter of manufactured products in the world.

The accusation of Debt Diplomacy is often associated with BRI. However, empirical research shows that the widely cited example of the acquisition of Hambantota port by the Chinese has little to do with BRI. In fact, China is not even the largest creditor of Sri Lanka. Rather, it is closely related to the servicing of the prior $39 billion Sovereign Bonds that were issued by the Sri Lankan Government, whose maturity period ends in 2019. Chinese investments often were misdirected to inefficient prestige projects. The acquisition of Hambantota however raises the specter of String of Pearls theory whereby Chinese dependence on Singapore as a maritime hub could drastically reduce in the coming decades.

China has committed to roughly US$ 40 billion investment in Bangladesh. Though disbursement has been slow, it is widely expected to invest in power, infrastructure and manufacturing industries. Most of the loans provided by the Chinese are commercial in nature, with stiff interest rates.

The questions regarding the wisdom of debt financed investment is moot at this point as these investments are crucial for the Bangladeshi economy. However, some concerns remain such as the possibility of the Chinese economy slowing down and its impact on BRI; the possibility of sudden rise in global oil prices and slowing down of remittances and RMG exports and its effect on Bangladesh’s ability to service its debts; the lack of adequate sensitisation of Chinese workers in Bangladesh to local culture and tradition as demonstrated by the regrettable Payra power plant incident; greater oversight and transparency etc.
However, BRI alone cannot be a panacea for all our economic woes.


Brig Gen Shahedul Anam Khan, ndc, psc (Retd), Associate Editor, The Daily Star

China has overcome the US economy in terms of Purchasing Power Parity in 2014. We must understand that Belt and Road Initiative is here to stay. China cannot be blamed for her aspirations as no other big country came up with concrete plans to reshape the current world order. BRI is of greater importance to China and the project goes with the ever increasing global demand for infrastructure. It is also flexible as it allows local and regional integration. The enlarging footprint of BRI in the region is also another aspect.

There are discussions about Mombasa-Nairobi railway and Jakarta-Bandung railway. Some of the projects of BRI are symbolic. Like any other infrastructural projects, there are pros and cons of BRI. There are concerns of compromising national sovereignty. China hopes to ensure that the ownership of a particular infrastructure is not hampered. The domestic challenges that China faces in terms of fund, high rate of unemployment and environment are also key concerns. Ghost cities have been a major cause of concern in China. Technological tsunami in the form of IOT, 3D printing, robotics, big data and human cloud will outsource the white collar work all across the globe which would cause serious unemployment. Unemployment will also impact developed countries; USA will experience 47 percent unemployment, Japan will experience 40 percent unemployment and UK will experience 37 percent unemployment. BRI as a project is subject to criticism. There are certain security concerns: debt, disaster, absence of local employment, trickle-down effect of uncertainty, consequences of disruption of projects within China and other countries as well as the Chinese compass approach. There is a risk of miscommunication and misperception about such a large approach. China recognises that debt trap diplomacy is something which should never be repeated. BRI is the first step to cover a thousand miles. BRI’s success depends on the social, economic and political stability of China and all the participating countries. It is not judicious to pick the Rohingya issue in all matters of cooperation. BRI should be based on our package that represents our dreams and aspirations. We should be careful about vanity projects.

Serajul Islam, Former Ambassador

There is a concern on the situation of Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh. We should look at the balance of policies between Bangladesh and India to join the Belt and Road Initiative. We should realise that BRI is not the solution for all our problems. We should also realise that a large stake of our membership to BRI is based on BCIM which is dependent on our ally, India.


Rear Admiral A S M A Awal, NBP, OSP, ndc, psc, MDS, MBA (Retd), Former Ambassador & Assistant Chief of Naval Staff

BCIM can act as a real transit point linking together all the countries. India and China are the biggest trade partners. The issue is whether India will sign up for BRI. The rivalry between India and China will determine the fate of BCIM corridor. China and India are our biggest trading partners as well. The sideline meeting between China, India and Russia at G20 Summit caught the attention of the press across the world. There is also a point of contention between India and China on account of the Doklam standoff. The national interests should be preserved while considering the selection of projects. BRI and Indo-Pacific strategy are two competing projects which require participation from Bangladesh.

Penny Morton, Deputy High Commissioner, Australian High Commission in Bangladesh

Bangladesh should emphasise on the use of international rules for the BRI projects. It can also look for opportunities concerned with free trade, democracy and other values that it can associate with BRI. Bangladesh should hold a genuine interest in upholding the standards for BRI projects across the whole Indo-Pacific region.


Shahed Akhter, Former Ambassador

Bangladesh should concentrate on the BRI and BCIM corridor. Bangladesh has a genuine interest in this part of BRI project because it has a large volume of trade with China. There were plans to build Asian Highway 1 and 2. However, the current status of the Asian Highway is questionable. BRI will also connect Asia with Europe. United Nations ESCAP has also actively worked for the development of Asian Highway. India has already taken note that Bangladesh is going to be a part of BRI. We already have a MoU with Myanmar concerning the Rohingya crisis. The countries who signed up for BRI are taking keen interests on BRI.

Jacob J Levin, Political Officer, US Embassy in Bangladesh

There are talks on competition and market share. In this kind of debate, the conspiracy theories always take precedence. We value relations with Bangladesh. USA has been a key partner to Bangladesh in terms of trade, counter terrorism and development. Currently there is a focus on state led investment but there should be more focus on private investment. The share of private investments went down last year and that is a major concern for Bangladesh. We have experience and the resources required to develop Bangladesh. We want to collaborate with the government of Bangladesh in order to unlock the potential of private sector in Bangladesh. We need incentives for US companies to invest in Bangladesh.

Dr Nadia Binte Amin, Managing Director and CEO, Research and Computing Services Private Limited

There are concerns about Bangladesh in terms of incorporating our self-interests with the BRI projects. We should emphasise on being more pragmatic to have a positive impact on the Chinese position for BRI.
​

Bangladeshi minister hails China-proposed BRI as 'visionary global endeavor'

Xinhua | September 22, 2023

"The Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China is a visionary global endeavor," Bangladeshi Education Minister Dipu Moni has said.

"The joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has opened a new door to development for Bangladesh," Moni said on Thursday at the launching ceremony of a report titled "The Belt and Road Initiative in Bangladesh: Achievement and Way Forward".

According to the report, the Belt and Road Initiative will help Bangladesh's real gross domestic product growth rate increase by at least 2.1 percentage points, generate an additional 2.5 percent to 5.1 percent of employment, and decrease extreme poverty by 1.3 percent.

Depending on specific scenarios considered, BRI projects are projected to create an additional 1.8 million to 3.6 million employment opportunities, the report showed.

"China and its Belt and Road Initiative have made great contributions for Bangladesh to realize the 'Vision 2041' (of achieving the high-income status for Bangladesh by 2041) and 'Sonar (golden) Bangla' dream," Moni said.

In education section, BRAC University, a leading private university in Bangladesh, has had a new campus constructed by a Chinese company that will help train the next generation of Bangladeshis to better serve the nation, Moni said.

In power section, she said China has helped Bangladesh achieve 100 percent electricity coverage across the country, making Bangladesh the first South Asian country to achieve this goal.

She also said China has helped Bangladesh establish advanced data center, which has brought the dream of Smart Bangladesh one step closer.

"I believe, in the future, under the framework of the BRI, Bangladesh and China can cooperate stronger in policy, infrastructure, trade, financial, and people to people connectivity," Moni stressed.​

Officials of both China and Bangladesh at the inauguration of "The Belt and Road Initiative in Bangladesh Exhibition 2023" in Dhaka on 8 September 2023. Photo: TBS/ Jahir Rayhan Dhaka on 8 September 2023. Photo: TBS/ Jahir Rayhan


Under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China-Bangladesh relations will surely reach a new height and open a new era of friendly cooperation, Yan Hualong, charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka, has said.

"China will continue to encourage more Chinese enterprises to invest in Bangladesh and promote the steady and long-term development of China-Bangladesh economic and trade relations," he said at the inauguration of the "Belt and Road Initiative in Bangladesh Exhibition 2023" in Dhaka yesterday.

The Chinese envoy further said that his country will always be a trustworthy neighbour, close friend and cooperative partner to Bangladesh on the latter's modernisation journey.

The Belt and Road Initiative in Bangladesh Exhibition 2023, featuring around 35 Chinese companies and several Bangladeshi companies and banks, among others, will continue till tomorrow at 10:30am-7pm, at the Bangabandhu Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre in the capital's Purbachal.

The exhibition is jointly organised by the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh, Bangladesh China Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCCI) and Chinese Enterprises Association in Bangladesh (CEAB).

Having said that Bangladesh is the first country in South Asia to have joined the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Yan Hualong added, "The Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh holds the exhibition to vividly demonstrate the achievements of the Belt and Road Initiative in Bangladesh, build a platform for cooperation between Chinese and Bangladeshi companies, and to present a gift to the upcoming 74th anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China"

He went on saying, "Economic and trade cooperation has always been an important pillar of the China-Bangladesh strategic partnership. Since Bangladesh joined the Belt and Road Initiative, more and more Chinese companies have invested in Bangladesh. Currently, there are more than 670 Chinese companies operating in Bangladesh."

The Chinese charge d'affaires further said the Chinese companies in Bangladesh are committed to promoting bilateral trade and make positive contributions to Bangladesh's import of raw materials and export of finished products.

Addressing as the chief guest, Lokman Hossain Miah, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida), said that China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has already brought transformative change to Bangladesh and has strengthened Bangladesh's role as a vital connector in regional trade networks.

He mentioned that China's FDI stock has reached $1.34 billion - 5th largest in volume – from $19 million in 2009.

Gazi Golam Murtoza, president of the Bangladesh China Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCCI), said, "Bangladesh, with its strategic location and unwavering commitment to progress, officially joined the Belt and Road Initiative in 2016. Since then, the Bangladesh-China partnership has blossomed, resulting in a host of transformative projects that have brought tangible benefits to the nation and beyond."

Md Anwar Hossain, additional secretary and wing chief of Economic Relations Division (ERD), AHM Ahsan, vice chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), and Ke Changliang, president of the Chinese Enterprises Association in Bangladesh (CEAB), were also present.​

Masfi-ul-Ashfaq Nibir | Published: 00:00, Jul 13,2023




FOR a decade, Bangladesh’s development strategy is greatly facilitated by the Chinese development synergy in the country’s various sectors, such as communication, transportation, energy and technology. A number of megaprojects are financed by Chinese governments and corporations and contracted by even Chinese engineers. This high-level engagement has contributed to Bangladesh’s development story, but one needs to be cautious about the implementation of the development itself.

Soon progressing into a middle-income country, Bangladesh has been shifting its development focus, and China has successfully established itself as an integral part of this journey. In the 1990s, Bangladesh was largely portrayed as a lower-riparian country with disastrous climate fatalities and poverty. Throughout the 2000s, international organisations, including UNICEF, FPA and other INGOs, have focused on attaining the sustainable development goals by lifting hunger, ensuring primary education, rural sanitation, etc to provide the basic human needs of the then-100 million population. Now, as a country with $2,800 per capita income, Bangladesh has been rapidly transforming its highway, railway, and other infrastructural plans to improve country production, connectivity and overall international outlook.

Incidentally, China also emerged with its Belt and Road Initiative in 2013 with the aim of integrating a greater region and reviving an obsolete Silk Road used long ago for trading purposes. The revitalised trade route will serve as a global infrastructure development strategy, including an economic belt covering landlocked central Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and all Indo-Pacific regions. Bangladesh also became a part of the BRI through BCIM in 2015, expecting to accrue development benefits from such cooperation. After eight years, it is almost clearly visible how China has stepped on its clear footing in such objectives with approximately $40 billion in overall economic investment in Bangladesh.

In broad strokes, China’s BRI aims to mark around 60 development projects in Bangladesh initiated by 27 projects with a $24 billion value estimate. The government prioritised 17 of them, including areas such as energy, railway connectivity, shipping, road transport, and ICT, under ministerial contracts. Some of the key megaprojects in Bangladesh, especially the Padma Bridge Rail Link, Karnaphuli River Tunnel, Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Express Highway, and DPDC’s Power System, are contracted by Chinese companies. Many of them are financed by China.

The recent AEI data suggests that up until now, China has invested around $7.07 billion into Bangladesh’s development programmes, of which $3.27 billion has entered into the power and energy sector, $2.17 billion into construction, and $1.1 billion into the country’s construction sector. Recently, China also signed a new ‘tied loan’ for a water treatment plant worth $276 million, suggesting the country is also stepping into water infrastructure projects. In terms of trade, China is currently Bangladesh’s largest bilateral trading partner, both in terms of imports and exports.

This synergistic development cooperation between China and Bangladesh also caused some doubts among economists, academics and politicians festered by the recent default of the Sri Lankan economy and the takeover of the Hambantota Port by China. However, the latter has proved to be a myth, as this was a concessional agreement between two, not equity or swap agreement. Such a debunking of the myth is necessary to understand the extent of Chinese cooperation here and the true motivation behind such multibillion-dollar investments in South Asia.

However, on another note, one cannot deny how Bangladesh has been enjoying the developmental fruits of such intensive investments. For example, the Padma Rail Bridge Link Road is expected to reduce poverty by 1.01 per cent at a local level. More importantly, the bridge has reduced the communication gap between Dhaka and Southwest Bangladesh, which was once very time-consuming and expensive. Also, the Karnaphuli River Tunnel is expected to cut the time and distance between Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar. The tunnel is assumed to shorten the distance by 50 kilometres, expanding the tourism industry to a greater extent. Businesses will be the largest stakeholders in such benefits with improved raw material transportation and easier supply chain routes.

For Bangladesh, prioritising these mega-projects involved two sides of benefits. Firstly, the paradigm shift in the development phase has contributed to a new era of infrastructure transformation here with robust highways, high-end communication and easy transportation. These could not be done without foreign direct investment, especially central financing, which would have taken longer periods and shortened budget facilities for public goods. Secondly, the cooperation between Bangladesh and China has increased more than at any other time. China’s role in Bangladesh’s liberation war resulted in a half-hearted relationship between the two. Now, it has changed into a more cooperative one, regardless of its asymmetrical nature.

Throughout history, developing countries such as Japan, Singapore, and Cuba have gone through economic transformations due to foreign direct investment. Bangladesh is going through such a phase. But the country needs to be very cautious about avoiding white elephant projects and making solid returns out of mammoth-sized investments.

This is not to say that China is without any geopolitical motivation in engaging itself in the greater South Asia region. However, one cannot also deny the extent of the economic benefits that Bangladesh has accrued from such investments. The Sri Lankan story teaches us that no matter what the investments are, it is up to the government to decide who and how the investment should be used. Bangladesh government needs to be careful in implementing megaprojects so that it does not take its megaprojects to zero return and lead its economy into ashtray.

Masfi-ul-Ashfaq Nibir is a research assistant at Central Foundation for International and Strategic Studies.

​

Source: Xinhua
Editor: huaxia
2023-09-22 09:32:30

DHAKA, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- A recent report estimated that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will help Bangladesh's real gross domestic product (GDP) growth by at least 2.1 percent, generate an additional 2.5 percent to 5.1 percent of employment, and decrease extreme poverty by 1.3 percent.

The report, titled "The Belt and Road in Bangladesh Achievements and Way Forward," was published here on Thursday by the Chinese embassy in Bangladesh. It said that the BRI activities in Bangladesh primarily encompass three areas: infrastructure development, energy and power collaboration, and social and cultural exchange.

Taking the examples of the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project, the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel, and the Expansion and Strengthening of Power System Network, the report said estimations based on different modeling approaches indicate substantial positive effects on GDP, trade, employment generation and poverty reduction.

According to the report, depending on the specific scenarios considered, the BRI projects are projected to create an additional 1.8 million to 3.6 million employment opportunities.

Meanwhile, the report said that the BRI offers an additional opportunity for Chinese investment and financing in infrastructure and connectivity projects, which can stimulate Bangladesh's supply response and external competitiveness.

It demonstrated BRI's "transformative power in driving economic growth and uplifting communities from poverty," said the report.

Also, the report called on both countries to collaborate to improve the ease of doing business, identify and eliminate investment barriers, and establish a favorable legal framework to protect the rights and interests of investors and consumers.

M. A. Mannan, Bangladeshi Planning Minister, stated in the report's message that Bangladesh, as a member of the BRI global cooperation alliance of China, has already started benefiting from the BRI, including China's financial investment and contractual construction obligations.

"The investment made by BRI will continue to contribute to development initiatives of Bangladesh competitive in the future and will help to achieve vision 2041," said Mannan.

"As we have seen for the past few years, the BRI has changed the landscape of Bangladesh," stated the message by Bangladesh's commerce minister Tipu Munshi, adding that the investment in the power sector enabled Bangladesh to realize 100 percent electrification.

The investment in the digital sector has also brought the dream of Digital and Smart Bangladesh one step closer, and the investment in roads and railways has transformed the trade landscape in Bangladesh and ensured faster connectivity throughout the country and the South Asian region as well, said the commerce minister.

Yao Wen, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh, stated in the report's message, "I am convinced that under the framework of BRI, more and more Chinese enterprises and people will devote themselves to the goal of Smart Bangladesh, proposing Chinese solutions and making even more contributions to the realization of 'Vision 2041'." ■​

https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/foreign-affairs/324751/china-bri-will-take-dhaka-beijing-relations-to

• 2023 marks 10th anniversary of BRI
• Bangladesh first South Asian country to join initiative
• ‘Economic, trade cooperation important pillar of ties’

Representational image. Photo: Collected
Tribune Report
Publish : 08 Sep 2023, 04:01 PMUpdate : 08 Sep 2023, 04:01 PM


Beijing-Dhaka relations will “surely reach a new height and open a new era of friendly cooperation” under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Yan Hualong, chargé d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy, has said.

He was speaking at the inauguration of the "The Belt and Road Initiative in Bangladesh Exhibition 2023" in Dhaka on Friday.

Lokman Hossain Miah, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, was also present.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of BRI.

The envoy said Bangladesh had been the first country in South Asia to join the initiative.

He said the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh was holding the exhibition to vividly demonstrate the achievements of BRI in Bangladesh, build a platform for cooperation between Chinese and Bangladeshi companies and present a gift on the upcoming 74th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

The exhibitors include 15 Chinese companies whose South Asian regional headquarters are in Bangladesh, nearly 20 other large Chinese companies that are deeply operating in the Bangladesh market, and several large Bangladeshi companies and banks.

Yan said economic and trade cooperation had always been an “important pillar of the China-Bangladesh strategic partnership.”

Since Bangladesh joined the Belt and Road Initiative, more and more Chinese companies had been investing in Bangladesh, he said.

Currently, there are more than 670 Chinese companies operating in Bangladesh.

These companies, “especially the exhibitors here today,” were an important driving force for China-Bangladesh economic and trade cooperation, the envoy said.

“They promote more Chinese capital, Chinese technology and Chinese standards to Bangladesh, providing impetus for the upgrading of Bangladesh's industrial structure and long-term economic development.

“They build infrastructures such as roads and bridges, laying a solid foundation for Bangladesh's economic development. They participate in municipal water affairs, dealing with garbage and sewage, and improving the living standards of the Bangladeshi people.

“They invested in various power plants to ensure power supply in Bangladesh and helped it become the first country in South Asia with nationwide access to electricity.

“They participated in the construction of the Bangladesh network and contributed to the construction of Smart Bangladesh.

“They are committed to promoting bilateral trade and make positive contributions to Bangladesh's import of raw materials sectors and export of finished products sector,” he said.

On the journey of Bangladesh's modernization, Yan Hualong said, China would always be a “trustworthy neighbour, close friend and cooperative partner.”

“China will continue to encourage more Chinese enterprises to invest in Bangladesh and promote the steady and long-term development of China-Bangladesh economic and trade relations,” he said.​