New Delhi: It is unclear why Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina cut short her recent visit to China — the first in five years — though diplomatic sources have attempted to downplay the matter by arguing that this is not the first time she has halted her travel abroad ahead of schedule.
In 2018, the Bangladesh leader had ended her Singapore visit a day early, following a deadly crash of a Bangladeshi plane in Nepal that killed dozens.
Hasina is expected to hold a press conference Sunday, where she will address the key takeaways of her visit to Beijing.
On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud announced that the Prime Minister’s four-day visit would end a few hours earlier due to her daughter Saima Wazed’s ill health. Hasina eventually departed Beijing on the third night of her trip instead of the fourth morning.
“She is not just staying here overnight because her daughter Saima Wazed is sick, and she will go to Dhaka early to give her time as a mother,” the foreign minister said in Beijing. Her official programs ended after 4 pm on Wednesday, following her meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Bangladesh prime minister has visited India twice this year. Both visits took place in June. She attended Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony, and later came to Delhi on a bilateral state visit — the first by a foreign leader after Modi took over as PM for a third time.
Hasina had last visited China in July 2019. During her latest trip, Hasina and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the elevation of the ties to a “comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation” (CSPC) from the “strategic partnership of cooperation” established in 2016.
The two sides signed 21 agreements following delegation-level meetings at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Agreements were made on trade and investment, digital economy, infrastructure development, disaster management support, building of the sixth and ninth friendship bridges between Bangladesh and China, export of agricultural products from Bangladesh, and more.
There was also a focus on further cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s multi-billion infrastructure project. The Chinese President told Hasina Wednesday that deepening construction of the BRI and expanding the depth and breadth of cooperation will be the focus in years to come.
During her visit, Hasina held talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who also hosted a lunch banquet for her Wednesday. The day prior, she held meetings with the Chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Wang Huning and President of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Jin Liqun.
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Lack of much-needed financial assistance
During Hasina’s visit, she was unable to secure the much-needed economic assistance and loans from Beijing to offset Bangladesh’s foreign exchange issues. Last week, ahead of the visit, the governor of Bangladesh’s central bank, Abdur Rouf Talukder, said that Bangladesh had asked China for a loan of about $5 billion and talks were at a “technical stage”. These funds were expected to be denominated in yuan.
However, Beijing did not provide any major financial assistance during the visit apart from loans that amounted to a few million dollars. China has pledged assistance of 1 billion yuan (1,000 crore yuan), equivalent to Tk 1,600 crore, which will be provided as a grant.
Some opposition members in Bangladesh have criticised the government for failing to secure a $5-7 billion credit line from Beijing, and an additional $15 billion in investment for various development projects during the latest bilateral visit.
Beijing has not held a great track record with following through on loans in the past. In 2016, Bangladesh was promised loans amounting to $24 billion tied to infrastructure projects. However, despite a four-year deadline for Dhaka to receive the amount, only about $5 billion was disbursed.
The loan agreed to in 2016 was meant to serve as a credit line from China to Bangladesh for the construction of various projects. It was struck when China’s President made his first official visit to Dhaka that year.
China is Bangladesh’s biggest trading partner, though its neighbour India has held this position in the past as well. Due to the fluctuations in the dollar, and plunging exports, especially of garment shipments, which account for 10 percent of the economy, the Bangladesh economy has struggled to recover from the pandemic with its foreign reserves on the decline.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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