Less than a month after the 12th Bangladesh parliamentary election, the Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh, Yao Wen, convened with the newly appointed Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud on 28 January 2024. During the meeting, he invited Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to visit China to promote mutual understanding and enhance bilateral cooperation.
While the invitation and its acceptance are both predictable given the robust relationship between the two countries, Beijing’s repeated articulation of its support in ‘opposing external interference in Bangladesh’, is noteworthy. Chinese Premiere Xi Jinping made its first iteration in the pre-election period when he vouched that China would stand by PM Hasina in resisting outside pressures, as the United States (US) continually imposed censures to ensure ‘democratic polls’. Since the past year, a marked disdain has become perceptible in US-Bangladesh relations over this issue, with Hasina calling out the US for human rights violations within its territory and the US expressing concern over irregularities in the Dhaka election. In such a scenario, speculations are increasing about China’s closer engagement with Bangladesh to fill a possible American vacuum, and the impact this will have on Dhaka’s ties with New Delhi.
Chinese Premiere Xi Jinping made its first iteration in the pre-election period when he vouched that China would stand by PM Hasina in resisting outside pressures, as the United States (US) continually imposed censures to ensure ‘democratic polls’.
In recent years, China’s assertive rise in the countries of South Asia has concerned India about Beijing’s growing influence in its neighbourhood. As the second-largest economy in South Asia, with a geographical position overlooking important shipping routes and substantial hydrocarbon reserves in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh is a coveted partner for China. For India, Bangladesh is important as its immediate eastern neighbour with which it shares the world’s fifth longest border. Consequently, India and China are proactively nurturing ties with Dhaka across domains and in the process contributing to its foreign revenue, on which the country relies primarily for its development and prosperity. China is Bangladesh’s largest trade partner, third-largest source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and its second-largest provider of foreign aid. India, on the other hand, is Dhaka’s second-largest trading partner, is ranked among its top 10 sources of FDI, and is its third-largest contributor of bilateral foreign assistance from non-aid group countries. Foreign assistance to Bangladesh is essentially of three types: food aid, commodity aid, and project aid. Of these, the third category is the most popular amongst its developmental partners, as constructing the necessary infrastructure allows these countries to not only strengthen diplomatic linkages with Dhaka but also to tap into its considerable commercial, geopolitical, and resource potential. Thus, a major chunk of the assistance provided by the two Asian giants to Bangladesh is directed towards building development infrastructure.
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.