The world is in an era of “profound global changes unseen in a century,” characterised by evolving geopolitical dynamics, shifting power structures, and growing uncertainties in international relations. Moreover, the ongoing instability around the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, affects fuel prices, transport costs, fertiliser supply, and, eventually, food security. Such crises have already shown that distant conflicts create vulnerabilities even for Bangladesh. Thus, Bangladesh needs to prepare itself for this complex world order with a proactive, forward-looking foreign policy firmly grounded in its national interests and sovereignty.
The idea of ‘Bangladesh First’ by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is highly relevant to formulating a foreign policy that protects sovereignty, expands opportunities, and reduces vulnerability. These ideas can be understood as a practical, people-centred framework for foreign policy aimed at developing the economy and trade while being grounded in the local context and remaining relevant to the global world order.
In such a complex geopolitical context, China is particularly important to Bangladesh. China’s neighbourhood diplomacy emphasises qin, cheng, hui, rong — amity, sincerity, mutual benefit, and inclusiveness — and clearly promotes the goal of building a community with a shared future with neighbouring countries. China’s recent initiatives — the Global Development Initiative (GDI), Global Security Initiative (GSI), Global Civilisation Initiative (GCI), and Global Governance Initiative (GGI) — can be beneficial if Bangladesh strategically approaches rebuilding and rebranding its relationship with China within this complex world order.
The modern history of the relationship between Bangladesh and China began under President Ziaur Rahman, as reflected in historical memory. Ziaur Rahman developed a diplomacy based on sovereign equality, mutual respect, pragmatic cooperation, and strategic balance. Guided by these principles, he visited China in January 1977, shortly after the passing of Chairman Mao Zedong. During this visit, Bangladesh and China signed the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation and the Agreement on Trade and Payments, laying an early foundation for practical cooperation. His second visit, in July 1980, yielded further agreements on loans and civil aviation transportation. These visits elevated Bangladesh-China relations from formal diplomatic recognition to structured, long-term cooperation, embedding the partnership in principles of peaceful coexistence, sovereign equality, non-interference, and mutual benefit.
With such pragmatic examples in hand, we can see the relevance of ‘Bangladesh First’ as a guiding principle for Bangladesh's foreign policy today. Bangladesh’s China policy should be cultivated on the basis of Bangladesh’s vested interest in transforming the country into a developed nation, rather than merely building a friendly relationship in response to the complexities of the Western-led world order.
This is precisely why Bangladesh should focus less on the vanity of giant or mega projects and more on the wisdom of useful work. Bangladesh does not need every success with China to arrive in the form of a monumental project. Rather, Bangladesh needs to prioritise projects that strengthen the capabilities of Bangladeshi professionals and students in modern irrigation, flood control, water management, agricultural technology, vocational institutions, digital training, industrial upgrading, public transport efficiency, and the extraction of fuel and green renewable energy.
By engaging with this framework effectively, Bangladesh can create opportunities in food security, energy resilience, infrastructure, trade, and development cooperation while protecting its national interests through collaboration with China. Green development, for example, is one such area. China’s experience in green development emphasises the local context and serves the interests of local communities. In addition, China’s recent concept of “high-quality development” challenges older Western ideas of modernisation, which often assume that development comes at the cost of environmental destruction. In contrast, the idea of high-quality development refers to a technologically advanced, nationally rooted, and environmentally conscious approach.
However, Bangladesh also needs to be careful not to fall into a ‘development trap’ or the ‘development of underdevelopment’, as the neo-Marxist theorist Andre Gunder Frank put it. By learning from countries such as China, Bangladesh needs to develop ideas and approaches that are deeply rooted in its own local contexts. In this way, the idea of development would become more sustainable, and Bangladesh could more effectively avoid the ‘development trap’.
Bangladesh’s development initiatives — tree planting, canal digging, alternative energy exploration, and industrialisation — can also benefit from China’s experience. While infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and ports is essential, development must also improve the quality of everyday life: how people breathe, walk, rest, and access basic resources. China’s pocket parks and greenways demonstrate that urban spaces can combine beauty, greenery, public health, and people-centred governance. For Bangladesh, this idea can be further adapted to address its food security challenges. For example, Bangladesh can learn from China’s approach to feeding around 20% of the world’s population with less than 9% of global arable land, demonstrating that food security depends not only on land area but also on increasing productivity through innovative technologies, modern methods, and effective planning.
Pocket parks, roadside green belts, canal-side walkways, schoolyards, and community spaces can include fruit trees, edible vines, medicinal plants, and small community gardens. These may not replace large-scale agriculture, but they can serve as small yet meaningful supplementary food sources for vulnerable urban populations while improving shade, air quality, biodiversity, and social well-being. Thus, urban greening should be treated not only as beautification but also as part of Bangladesh’s resilience strategy.
This is precisely why Bangladesh should focus less on the vanity of giant or mega projects and more on the wisdom of useful work. President Ziaur Rahman's era is remembered for its ethic of practical nation-building: canals, production, agriculture, discipline, local effort, and self-reliance. The spirit behind that legacy remains valuable today. Bangladesh does not need every success with China to arrive in the form of a monumental project. Rather, Bangladesh needs to prioritise projects that strengthen the capabilities of Bangladeshi professionals and students in modern irrigation, flood control, water management, agricultural technology, vocational institutions, digital training, industrial upgrading, public transport efficiency, and the extraction of fuel and green renewable energy.
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has created significant uncertainty for young people worldwide, with concerns that AI will replace traditional jobs and leave them without clear direction. If we look at China’s “AI Plus” model, we can see that it offers a practical path by integrating AI with new energy vehicles, autonomous driving, the digital economy, smart manufacturing, and modern services, thereby creating massive new employment opportunities and upgrading vocational education systems to prepare young people for the future.
Bangladesh could leverage these opportunities by initiating joint degree programmes with leading Chinese universities in priority areas such as AI, cutting-edge engineering and technology, and vocational education. Bangladesh needs to invest in its technology-led sectors to equip itself with AI-enabled skills and future-oriented industries that can turn challenges into opportunities for young people. Bangladesh’s 115 million youths (UNFPA, 2025) can directly benefit from such initiatives and become an enormous national resource.
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has created significant uncertainty for young people worldwide, with concerns that AI will replace traditional jobs and leave them without clear direction. This may be partly true, but AI will also create employment opportunities for many skilled workers. However, Western strategies have not yet provided effective solutions to this challenge. If we look at China’s “AI Plus” model, we can see that it offers a practical path by integrating AI with new energy vehicles, autonomous driving, the digital economy, smart manufacturing, and modern services, thereby creating massive new employment opportunities and upgrading vocational education systems to prepare young people for the future.
To achieve this, a pragmatic China policy must also be grounded in a youth-centred approach. Bangladesh’s youths need practical pathways in technical education, industrial opportunities, start-up ecosystems, research partnerships, digital skills, and the confidence that the future can still be built. Therefore, if the idea of ‘Bangladesh First’ is incorporated into foreign policy, it would mean ensuring that every major external partnership creates more opportunities for the youth than before. Through such an approach, Bangladesh can consciously avoid the ‘development trap’, ‘debt trap’, and ‘high-interest loans’ that are widely regarded as major obstacles to development in many developing nations worldwide.
Bangladesh should engage with China pragmatically and strategically, guided by the principles of sovereign equality, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation. The diplomatic wisdom of President Ziaur Rahman, rooted in sovereignty, balance, and practical statecraft, continues to offer valuable guidance today. ‘Bangladesh First’ is an approach that aligns naturally with China’s philosophy of a community with a shared future. By deepening people-to-people bonds (minxin xiangtong), enhancing practical cooperation, and upholding multilateralism, the two countries can foster shared prosperity (gongtong fuyu) and harmonious development (mei mei yu gong). A pragmatic China policy that places ‘Bangladesh First’ at its centre can help make Bangladesh more developed, greener, and more hopeful for its youth.
Dr Mostak Ahamed Galibis an Associate Professor and Director of Cross-cultural communication & BRI research centre, School of Marxism, Wuhan University of Technology, China.
Dr Bulbul Siddiqi is a Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Confucius Institute at North South University.
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