What is meant by a strategic partnership between Bangladesh and China?

Bangladesh and China have elevated their relations to a “strategic partnership for cooperation” from closer comprehensive partnership during the official talks between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and President Xi Jinping in Dhaka.

After the meeting on Friday, Xi said they would increase high level of exchanges and strategic communication under the new partnership so that the bilateral relations “continue to move ahead at higher level”.

What does strategic partnership mean? How is it different from normal relations?

Strategic partnerships are commonly linked with defence or security-related issues. But diplomats say it also covers a wide range of bilateral issues from education to health, and economic relations including trade and investment.

Bangladesh is yet to define officially the objective of its new partnership with China. But it is being closely observed by many countries including India with whom Bangladesh does not have any such formal strategic partnership.

Former Bangladesh ambassador in China Ashfaqur Rahman views this strategic partnership with China from an economic perspective.

“It’s a cooperation strategy. It’s not military. I think it’s purely economic strategy since China is planning huge investments in Bangladesh. I welcome this move,” he told bdnews24.com.

“This cooperation partnership will allow both countries to pick the right sector of investments,” he said. “It can be problematic if it is military-related.”

Former ambassador M Humayun Kabir, who is vice-president of Bangladesh Enterprise Institute, also believes that this strategic partnership was because of China’s “huge investment”.

He does not believe that this partnership has any element to make neighbours concerned.

“With this new partnership I think we’ll look at issues from a longer perspective of relations where both parties will cooperate and collaborate with each other and both will work together and benefit from each other,” Kabir told bdnews24.com.

In his view, those long term interests “could be economic relations, connectivity or those could also be defence collaboration”.

“This is a new level of relations for Bangladesh, I would say and it comes out of a focus on strengthening economic relations.”

“China is ready to invest in a big way. We need investment in a big way. So we have convergence in our needs.

“Bangladesh needs support in energy and investment. China can help in that. We are working for each other’s economic development.”

But, Kabir noted that there should be “transparency, accountability and involvement of people” in all the process of strategic partnership. “Only then can the relations be sustainable, productive and beneficial in the long term.”

The Chinese president, in his statement, said Beijing would “continue to do its best” to provide capital, technological and human resources support and carry out “more cooperation” on big projects with Bangladesh to support its economical and social development.

Later, in a joint statement, both Bangladesh and China said they would work together for the common development and prosperity which are conducive to the improvement of the welfare of the two peoples.

They will also promote the development of the region and the self-relied growth of developing countries.

“Based on the common aspiration for and the bright future of the cooperation between the two countries, both sides agreed to elevate the bilateral relations to the Strategic Partnership of Cooperation,” read the joint statement.

The two sides reiterated their adherence to the important principles for developing China-Bangladesh relations on the basis of the “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, respecting and supporting each other in choosing the paths of development according to the national conditions, and respecting and supporting each other’s core interest and major concerns.”