Bangladesh wooed by China as ties with India fray

A delegation comprising 22 Bangladeshi political leaders, civil society activists, academics, and journalists has embarked on a 10-day visit to China. The delegation leader confirmed to the BBC that they will hold talks with Chinese government officials and senior members of the ruling Communist Party.

Analysts point out that as China extends goodwill towards Bangladesh, diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and India are becoming increasingly strained due to a series of issues. These issues include the exile of ousted Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Hasina in India, with Dhaka requesting her extradition, a request that Delhi has refused.

Abdul Moyeen Khan, a senior official of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the head of the delegation visiting China, told the BBC in Beijing: "This is basically a goodwill visit initiated by Beijing. The uniqueness of this visit is that China has invited a team representing various groups in Bangladesh."

Many members of the delegation are from the Nationalist Party and its allies. The Nationalist Party, led by former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, is one of Bangladesh's major political parties, the other being the Awami League led by Hasina. The delegation also includes several representatives of the student movement that triggered the mass uprising against Hasina, which ultimately led to her removal from power last August.

Currently, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus is in power. The government has been urging India to repatriate Hasina to face charges including crimes against humanity and money laundering. The United Nations has stated that the Hasina government's crackdown on protesters during the uprising resulted in approximately 1,400 deaths. To date, India has shown no signs of extraditing Hasina, who denies the charges.

During Hasina's 15 years in power, Delhi and Dhaka maintained close relations, and Hasina was widely regarded by critics as pro-India, but she also balanced relations with China. Following Hasina's ouster, China has increased its engagement with Bangladeshi leaders, activists, and delegations, including those from Islamic political parties. This week's visit follows a meeting in Beijing in January between Bangladesh's interim government's foreign policy advisor, Towhid Hossain, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. It is also the second visit by Nationalist Party officials to China in recent months, following Beijing's hosting of a Nationalist Party delegation at the end of last year.

Analysts believe that Beijing is attempting to increase its foothold in Bangladesh, a country with a population of approximately 170 million, due to the political vacuum and the absence of Indian influence. China is Bangladesh's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade amounting to approximately $24 billion (£19 billion), the vast majority of which is Chinese exports to the South Asian nation. The Bangladeshi military also relies heavily on Chinese equipment and ammunition, with over 70% of supplies coming from China.

In contrast to Beijing's overtures, India's engagement with the interim government and other Bangladeshi political leaders has been very limited in the past six months. The Nationalist Party held a protest in December, accusing India of interfering in Bangladesh's internal affairs by hosting Hasina. Some advisors to the interim government have also criticized Delhi on the same issue. This criticism has triggered a strong reaction from Delhi.

Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said last week that Bangladesh should decide for itself "what kind of relationship they want to have with us." He described the criticism of India by Bangladeshi officials and politicians as "utterly ridiculous."

Some believe that the increasingly strained rhetoric between Dhaka and Delhi may push Bangladesh towards China. The latest developments suggest that Bangladesh has joined the ranks of South Asian countries such as Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Nepal, becoming a target for Delhi and Beijing as the two superpowers vie for influence.

Zhou Bo, a senior researcher at Tsinghua University in Beijing, told the BBC: "I don't think India should assume that the entire subcontinent is within Delhi's sphere of influence. This attitude will be to India's disadvantage."