Informative Speech Outline: What Role Does China Have In Bangladesh Diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and China can be traced back to 1976, only five years after Bangladesh gained its independence. Leading up to that, Communist China strongly opposed Bangladesh’s succession from Pakistan during the Bangladesh War of Independence of 1971, mostly because of its close ties with Pakistan and its limited cooperation with the United States. In 1972, China used its veto power as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to stop Bangladesh’s entry into the United Nations. However in 1976, Bangladesh had a change in power, and immediately after, China recognized Bangladesh and extended full diplomatic ties. By then end of the year the two states had begun forming official relations. Rt.com, a page on current events, points out that China is showing a keen and committed interest in Bangladesh, which many feel will be important in the country’s “rebalancing strategy.”
Successive governments in Bangladesh have followed the precedent and increased close relations with China. By the mid 1980’s, China and Bangladesh had created close military, economic, and commercial ties. China has even supplied military aid and equipment. In July 1987, the then-current president of Bangladesh Hossain Mohammad Ershad visited Beijing and was received with much warmth and welcome. On October 4, 2000, the Bangladesh Ministry of Post and Telecommunications issued a postal stamp to mark the 25th anniversary of Bangladesh-China diplomatic relations and according to Aljazeera.com, both countries have agreed to commemorate the 40th anniversary of their diplomatic relations throughout 2015. Furthermore by the early 2000’s, China had provided economic aid reaching 300 million dollars and in 2005, both countries declared the year as the “Bangladesh-China Friendship Year” and both nations signed nine different bilateral agreements to increase mutual relations. According to the Geopolitical Monitor, it is being noted by the United Nations that Bangladesh has entered into multiple agreements with China since diplomatic relations were established. In the commercial sphere, China is the largest trading partner of Bangladesh and Bangladesh is the third largest partner of China. Bilateral trade peaked at 3.19 billion US dollars in 2006, showing a growth margin of 28.5% between 2005 and 2006. However, trade between the two nations is highly tilted in favor of China. The University of Calcutta states that in order to bridge the gap, China not only provided economic aid, but signed the Asia – Pacific Free Trade Agreement to remove tariff barriers, China has removed tariffs on 84 types of commodities imported from Bangladesh and is still working on reducing tariffs over the trade of jute (a shiny vegetable fiber similar to hemp that’s spun in strong threads, used to make burlap) and textiles (woven clothe similar to yarn), which are Bangladesh’s two largest domestic products. China’s main imports from Bangladesh are chiefly raw materials such as leather, cotton, textiles, jute, fish, etc. China’s major exports to Bangladesh include machinery, electronic products, cement, fertilizer, raw silk, etc. The two nations have also worked together on transportation, agreeing to start a direct air transport route between Dhaka, the capitol city of Bangladesh, and Beijing. Military relations have also increased exponentially since the two countries formed diplomatic ties in 1976. The Bangladesh army had been equipped with Chinese tanks, its navy with Chinese frigates as well as missile ship and its air force with Chinese fighter jets. In 2002, both countries signed the “Defense Cooperation Agreement” which covers cooperation on military training and defense production. A report sent to the United Nations in 2006 showed Dhaka ascending as a major buyer of Chinese weapons. Sixty-five large caliber artillery systems, sixteen combat aircraft and one hundred fourteen
