Bangladesh ranked 54 in the China Index. Screenshot from the China Index 2022 website. Fair use. In 2015, Bangladesh became part of the Chinese global infrastructure development strategy known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), mainly via one of its special projects known as the Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM). Eight years later, much of the initial enthusiasm seems to have vanished as a result of several factors, including the impact of the pandemic, Beijing's own reassessment of its ambitions, Russia's war against Ukraine, and the US government's push for influence in the region, known as its Indo-Pacific strategy, resulting in a slower pace of development seven years after Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit in 2016. As a rapidly growing economy in South Asia with a thriving ready-made garments export industry, a burgeoning local manufacturing industry and a robust inflow of remittances from overseas workers, Bangladesh has pushed for infrastructure development to become an upper-middle-income economy by 2031. This economic ambition has turned China into its largest trading partner of the past decade. Therefore, Xi's October 2016 visit signified a promising opportunity for the country to take China's help in developing various infrastructure projects such as railways, power plants and other initiatives. In 2016, China put forward proposals to invest a total of approximately USD 40 billion in Bangladesh. Of this amount, USD 24.45 billion was designated for infrastructure projects as assistance, while USD 13.6 billion was allocated for joint venture investments. Additionally, China pledged to provide USD 20 billion in loans for various development projects. During that same year, Bangladesh signed agreements for eight projects, with a total of more than USD 9.45 billion financed by China. These projects included the Padma Bridge rail link (valued at USD 3.3 billion), the Payra 320 MW coal-powered Thermal Power Plant (worth USD 1.56 billion), an investment in the Development of National ICT Infra-Network for the Bangladesh Government project (with a budget of USD 1 billion), and a power grid network strengthening project (valued at USD 1.32 billion). The Twitter account of The Belt and Road Initiative Sri Lanka (BRISL) explains how the 169 km long Padma Bridge Rail Link Project is a key component of this cooperation as it establishes shorter rail connectivity between the capital Dhaka, and the central and south-western regions of Bangladesh including the port of Payra. Chinese and Bangladeshi engineers work together for the 172 km #PadmaBridge Rail Link Project in Keraniganj, Bangladesh, one of the most significant Belt and Road Initiative projects under construction by the China Railway Group Limited. #China-#Bangladesh #BRI pic.twitter.com/AVGHCIctmX — BRISL (@BRI_SL) February 3, 2023 Between 2018 and 2019, China made significant investments in Bangladesh's power sector. During Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to China in 2019, nine new investments, including two loan deals, were signed between the two nations. According to the China Global Investment tracker, China invested a total of USD 7.07 billion from 2018 to 2022 and has been directly involved in construction projects worth around USD 16 billion. Yet despite this seemingly win-win situation, Dhaka has its own concerns about China's role and requests to align its strategy with BRI's goals. Dhaka has also expressed concerns about the slow disbursement of funds for key BRI projects that may face challenges such as budgetary constraints and extended timelines. Perhaps the main concern is the risk of falling into China's debt trap. Indeed the economic troubles faced by Pakistan and Sri Lanka have prompted Bangladesh to reassess its involvement in BRI-related infrastructure projects driven by China. The Finance Minister of Bangladesh voiced his concerns in August 2022, urging developing nations to rethink their decision to take out more loans under China's Belt and Road Initiative. #ChinaBangladesh Bangladesh’s Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has warned that developing countries must think twice about taking more loans through China’s Belt and Road Initiative as global (BRI) inflation and slowing growth add to the strains on indebted emerging markets. pic.twitter.com/k6dafFv90U — Global Watch (@GlobalWatch_) August 10, 2022 Reports indicated that Bangladesh owed China approximately USD 4 billion in 2022, which amounted to 6 percent of its total foreign debt at that time. In July 2022, the country requested a bailout package of USD 4.5 million as its dwindling foreign reserves are making it difficult to import the goods necessary to keep its economy rolling.