China set to widen footprint in Bangladesh as India’s ties decline

(Reuters)

DHAKA, Feb 10 – China’s influence in Bangladesh, boosted by the 2024 ouster of New Delhi‑aligned leader Sheikh Hasina, is likely to deepen after this week’s election, although politicians and analysts say India is too large a neighbour to be sidelined completely.

Bangladesh votes on February 12 and the two frontrunner parties have historically had far cooler ties with India than Hasina did during her uninterrupted 15‑year rule from 2009. Her Awami League party is now banned and she is in self-imposed exile in New Delhi.

Meanwhile, China has stepped up its investment and diplomatic outreach in Dhaka, most recently signing a defence deal to build a drone factory near Bangladesh’s border with India.

Chinese Ambassador Yao Wen is often seen meeting Bangladeshi politicians, officials and journalists, according to the embassy’s Facebook posts, discussing infrastructure projects worth billions of dollars and other cooperation between the two countries.

“People in Bangladesh see India as complicit with Sheikh Hasina’s crimes,” said Humaiun Kobir, foreign affairs adviser to leading prime ministerial candidate Tarique Rahman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).