The relations between the ancient lands of China and Bengal date back to two thousand years ago. The relations were fostered through centuries by thriving trade relations along the southern Silk route, and frequent as well as far reaching exchanges in culture, knowledge and technologies. Records left by travelers, mostly monks and scholars, give us rich glimpses of these ancient relations and exchanges. Notable among such early travelers were Fa Xian (Fa Hien) in early 5th century AD, Xuan Zhang (Hue en Tsang) in 7th century AD from China. The most notable monk or scholar from Bangladesh, who travelled to China in early days, was the reverend Atish Dipankar (11th century AD). Later at the peak of Ming dynasty rule, Admiral Zheng He called at Chittagong port of Bangladesh with his legendary fleets. Some historians believe that the name of Chittagong port actually derived from “Xi Da Gang” (the great port in the west)– a name presumably given by Admiral Zheng He. Sultan Gyas Uddin Azam Shah is also recorded to have sent rich tributes to the Emperor of China. All these high profile travels and exchanges suggest that trade & commerce and travel across land & sea flourished through the centuries between the two countries.

In the twentieth century, the founding of the People's Republic of China inspired many political activities, students and intellectuals in Bengal, who closely observed the development of modern China under the leadership of the Communist Party. The Father of the Nation of Bangladesh Bangobandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman paid two important visits to China. The first was in 1953 and the second in 1957 when Bangobandhu was a Minister.

All these historic ties and exchanges laid the foundation for the diplomatic relations that were established between the two countries in 1975. The people of Bangladesh found a trusted friend and partner in China as they continued to strive for realizing their dreams of building a democratic and peaceful country. Bangladesh’s relations with China has been shaped by the fundamentals of her foreign policy, i.e. safeguarding her own sovereignty and territorial integrity, developing friendly regional and international relations and securing international cooperation in order to accelerate domestic economic, socio-political and cultural development.

Sino-Bangladesh relations can be defined by a number of significant factors. Firstly, the small state dilemma does not prevail in the case of Bangladesh as China refrains from showing any kind of high-handedness in her dealing with the former. Secondly, the bilateral relations have been forged without any ideological or regional basis. Thirdly, Bangladesh extends unequivocal support to any issue affecting the interests of the developing and least developed countries, and China has also remained committed to this issue. Fourthly, China’s enunciation of the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence as well as her commitment to create a harmonious society on the basis of a just and fair international political and economic order has always been endorsed by Bangladesh. And, most importantly, both Governments are keen on advancing their international relations with a view to ensuring a better life for their respective citizens in the face of the challenges of globalization.

Sino-Bangladesh relations have been nurtured through frequent high level visits between the two countries, which brought the leaderships of the two countries closer to each other. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and China, all successive Heads of Government of Bangladesh visited China, some more than once, to pave the way for broad based cooperation developed through the years with added depth and dimension. H.E. Sheikh Hasina, Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh paid an Official visit to China from 12-16 September 1996 in her first term in Office, which helped significantly to add strength and dimension to the friendly relations between Bangladesh and China. From the Chinese side, Bangladesh had the pleasure of hosting a number of high level leaders, including Premier Zhao Ziyang (1981), Premier Li Peng (1989), Premier Zhu Rongji (2002) and Premier Wen Jiabao (2005). During the visit of Premier Wen Jiabao to Bangladesh in April 2005, the two countries reached an understanding to pursue a “Comprehensive Partnership of Cooperation” entailing cooperation in every possible sector. The visit coincided with the signing of a number of important documents that signaled the beginning of cooperation in diverse sectors. Former Chief Adviser to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed paid an official working visit to China from 15-18 September 2008. The Communist Party of China maintains close working relations with the major political parties in Bangladesh and invites delegations from these parties to China to deepen their understanding of the evolving political situation in China.

The economic cooperation between the two countries has been growing steadily. China has so far constructed six China – Bangladesh Friendship Bridges across different rivers in Bangladesh. The Government of China made a gift of the Bangabandhu International Convention Centre in Dhaka, which bears the hallmark of the excellent relations between the two countries in the heart of the capital city. The Chinese are presently involved in constructing a Bangladesh – China International Exhibition Centre in Dhaka, which would be yet another milestone in the bilateral relations.

The state-owned companies have been actively engaged in constructing fertilizer factories, power generation plants, coal mining, offshore oil and gas exploration, telecommunications, port and railway sector development, irrigation and water resource development and other important sectors. These companies have implemented a series of projects in Bangladesh against Chinese grants or concessional loans. Bangladesh has thus been an important destination for Chinese project outsourcing. The Barapukuria Power Plant developed by the Chinese based on the coal extracted from the region has gone into full production in 2007.

The volume of Chinese investment in Bangladesh is on the rise. According to the figures released by Board of Investment of Bangladesh, Chinese investment in Bangladesh reached nearly US$ 300 million by 2007. Similarly, a growing number of Bangladeshi business people are now investing in or conducting business from China. The concentration of Bangladeshi business people in manufacturing hubs like Guangdong or Zhejiang province is adding a new dimension to Bangladesh’s economic relations with China.

The bilateral trade figure has surpassed US$ 4.5 billion (US$ 4.58 billion in 2009 and US$ 4.68 billion in 2008). In spite of the world wide recession, the bilateral trade has not been affected in a big way. China has emerged as the biggest source of import for Bangladesh since 2007. Bangladesh ranks as the third biggest export destination for China in the South Asian region. According to figures of China Customs, Bangladesh’s total export to China in 2009 amounted to US$ 140 million. China consistently underlines its policy decision to reduce the widening trade imbalance between the two countries. It has offered duty free access to 84 products from Bangladesh under the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), with effect from 01 January 2006. In order to help enhance Chinese import from Bangladesh, the Chinese side sends purchase missions on a regular basis.

During the visit of Premier Wen Jiabao to Bangladesh in April 2005, the two countries agreed to establish direct air and road connectivity between the two countries to further promote trade, investment, tourism as well as people-to-people contacts. The direct flights between the capitals of the two countries started operating since May 2005 with great success. The two sides are presently pursuing the issue of reviving the road connection along the ancient Southern Silk route between Kunming and the port city of Chittagong in Bangladesh through Myanmar. The issue is being discussed by the members of civil society under the purview of Kunming initiative promoting sub-regional cooperation in the area covering South West China, Bangladesh, Myanmar and North East India. Kunming and Chittagong have forged sister city relations to bring the peoples of the two cities closer to each other.

Bangladesh and China are now cooperating in wide range of areas including industries, agriculture, water resources development, flood forecasting, earthquake warning, science and technology, space research and application, public security and other areas. The First Joint Committee of Agriculture held its first meeting in Dhaka in 2007 and identified some specific areas of cooperation. China has been providing invaluable support to Bangladesh in propagating the use of hybrid seed varieties. The two countries have been exchanging experience and expertise in the areas of poverty alleviation and micro-finance. The Chinese Government is providing hydrological data from the upstream of the Yarlungzangbo river to strengthen the flood forecasting system in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has been one of the stakeholders in the Small Multi-mission Satellite being developed by China National Space Administration. In 2005, the two countries reached an understanding to cooperate in the area of developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, especially to meet the growing demand for power in Bangladesh. The Chinese Government organizes regular training programmes for Bangladeshi nationals and thereby immensely contributes to capacity building in both the public and private sectors of Bangladesh.

The defence cooperation between Bangladesh and China is traditionally very sound and strong. China has been a major source of materials and equipment for the armed forces of Bangladesh. China also offers long and medium term training programmes to Bangladesh defence forces. Members of Chinese armed forces also take part in various international training courses in Bangladesh. The two countries are contemplating forging cooperation to further complement their respective contributions to UN Peacekeeping Missions.

The two countries have always had excellent cooperation in the fields of education and culture. Recently, the Chinese Government has kindly increased scholarship quota for Bangladesh students from 50 to 80 on an annual basis. The two countries concluded a bilateral Cultural Agreement soon after the establishment of diplomatic relations, and subsequently signed several time-bound Executive Programmes to identify the specific cultural events or exchange issues.

The tourism cooperation between the two countries has also witnessed growth in recent times. In 2005, Bangladesh was awarded the Approved Destination Status (ADS) for Chinese tourists and later in the same year, the two countries signed an MOU on Facilitation of Group Visits of Chinese tourists to Bangladesh. With the establishment of direct flights between the two capitals, the number of Bangladeshi tourists visiting China has increased significantly. On the other hand, efforts are being made to promote Bangladesh as a popular destination among Chinese tourists. The national tourism organization of Bangladesh as well as the private sector tour service providers are establishing business contacts with their Chinese counterparts, and actively participating in different tourism and travel fairs being held in China. It is expected that with the complementary tourism resources between the two countries, cooperation in tourism sector would be further enhanced in the days to come.

The momentum of Sino-Bangladesh relations will continue to gather strength from year to year. China’s phenomenal rise as a global economic engine is likely to benefit the smaller neighbouring countries like Bangladesh towards achieving their own development objectives. The Government and people of Bangladesh would like to ensure the absolute optimization of such potentials through intense cooperation for a win-win situation for both the countries.