Jinping urged Dhaka to be part of China’s ambitious Silk Road initiative.
“China stands ready to work with Bangladesh to strengthen the synergy of bilateral development strategies within the framework of the Belt and Road (Silk Road) Initiative so as to push forward the ever-closer China-Bangladesh comprehensive partnership of cooperation,” Xi said in his message.
China’s Prime Minister Li Keqiang also sent congratulatory messages to his counterpart Sheikh Hasina on Bangladesh’s National Day. Li expressed hope that cooperation between Beijing and Dhaka will reach a new level in the coming years.
“China stands ready to work with Bangladesh to further expand friendly exchanges and cooperation of mutual benefit so as to raise the ever-closer China-Bangladesh comprehensive partnership of cooperation to a new level,” Li was quoted saying by Xinhua news agency.
China Trying To Improve Relation With India’s Neighbors
In the past decade, China has been trying hard to forage close ties with not only Bangladesh, but also with most countries in South Asia. China’s overtures towards smaller South Asian countries is widely seen as an effort to militarily and economically surround its rival India, which is the largest country in South Asian region.
Experts claim that Beijing plans to fulfill this ambition by its ‘string of pearls’ strategy, which seeks to surround India in Indian Ocean region through maritime projects in neighboring countries.
In last two years, China has signed many maritime projects with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Although Beijing has always maintained that projects are purely meant to enhance economic cooperation, some experts feel otherwise.
In response, the Indian government under new Prime Minister Narendar Modi has been warming up relationship to its neighbor by proving economic and military aid. New Delhi’s efforts yielded results in no time, with Bangladesh canceling two port projects with Chinese companies earlier this year, while Sri Lanka’s new government has ordered a review of all infrastructure projects offered to Chinese companies under the previous regime.
However, foreign experts claim that these setbacks have not dented Beijing’s pursuit to improve relationship with India’s neighboring countries.
