Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus is due in China on Wednesday at the start of a four-day visit during which he is expected to seek financial support and sign MoUs to boost his country’s sagging economy amid dwindling support from the US under President Donald Trump.
India will keep a close watch if Yunus agrees to any Chinese military presence particularly in any airfield closer to the border area. Additional Chinese support for Bangladesh armed forces and any enhanced Chinese military presence in the Bay of Bengal will also be closely monitored, according to Bangladesh watchers.
Yunus will attend the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025 in Boao, Hainan province, and hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on March 28. Boosting economic relations with China will be a central focus of this visit, sources in Dhaka said.
Yunus will later speak at Peking University, where he will reportedly be presented with an honorary doctorate. China, while engaged with Dhaka under the Hasina government and earlier with the BNP regime, is keen to keep Yunus in good humour for its economic and strategic interests in the Bay of Bengal region.
As per a report in Bangladesh’s leading English newspaper The Daily Star, China and Bangladesh are planning to sign at least eight MoUs on trade, culture, upgrading Mongla Port and water management. The Sheikh Hasina government had given India access to the Mongla Port.
While Yunus will court China for supporting various infrastructure projects, Beijing may provide a limited grant for the health sector that was ironically decided during Hasina’s trip to Beijing last July, ET has learnt.
Dhaka expects to sign a deal with Beijing during Yunus’ visit, under which Bangladesh will receive a grant of $138 million meant for projects selected jointly by both countries, including the construction of a world-class hospital in Bangladesh. Part of the Chinese grant may also be used for establishing a tertiary institution in Bangladesh.
“The chief adviser is set to engage in talks with Xi Jinping on various topics, including the establishment of a Chinese Economic Zone in Anwara upazila of Chattogram, the initiation of negotiations for a Bangladesh-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and the signing of a Bangladesh-China Investment Treaty,” said a report published in Bangladesh Business Standard.
Ahead of Yunus’ visit, China sent Bangladesh a draft for a revised bilateral investment agreement, according to the Business Standard report. However, China may not be forthcoming at this stage with major loans or grants given economic headwinds faced by the Bangladesh government.
India will keep a close watch if Yunus agrees to any Chinese military presence particularly in any airfield closer to the border area. Additional Chinese support for Bangladesh armed forces and any enhanced Chinese military presence in the Bay of Bengal will also be closely monitored, according to Bangladesh watchers.
Yunus will attend the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025 in Boao, Hainan province, and hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on March 28. Boosting economic relations with China will be a central focus of this visit, sources in Dhaka said.
Yunus will later speak at Peking University, where he will reportedly be presented with an honorary doctorate. China, while engaged with Dhaka under the Hasina government and earlier with the BNP regime, is keen to keep Yunus in good humour for its economic and strategic interests in the Bay of Bengal region.
As per a report in Bangladesh’s leading English newspaper The Daily Star, China and Bangladesh are planning to sign at least eight MoUs on trade, culture, upgrading Mongla Port and water management. The Sheikh Hasina government had given India access to the Mongla Port.
While Yunus will court China for supporting various infrastructure projects, Beijing may provide a limited grant for the health sector that was ironically decided during Hasina’s trip to Beijing last July, ET has learnt.
Dhaka expects to sign a deal with Beijing during Yunus’ visit, under which Bangladesh will receive a grant of $138 million meant for projects selected jointly by both countries, including the construction of a world-class hospital in Bangladesh. Part of the Chinese grant may also be used for establishing a tertiary institution in Bangladesh.
“The chief adviser is set to engage in talks with Xi Jinping on various topics, including the establishment of a Chinese Economic Zone in Anwara upazila of Chattogram, the initiation of negotiations for a Bangladesh-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and the signing of a Bangladesh-China Investment Treaty,” said a report published in Bangladesh Business Standard.
Ahead of Yunus’ visit, China sent Bangladesh a draft for a revised bilateral investment agreement, according to the Business Standard report. However, China may not be forthcoming at this stage with major loans or grants given economic headwinds faced by the Bangladesh government.
