Wang Shida: Don’t fall into zero-sum thinking when looking at the changes in Bangladesh
2024-08-12
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On August 5, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and flew to neighboring India by helicopter. On the 6th, the President of Bangladesh announced the dissolution of the National Assembly. On the 8th, the interim government of Bangladesh, led by economist Muhammad Yunus, was sworn in in the capital Dhaka. The outside world has different reactions to the political changes in Bangladesh. Some American media quoted Indian analysts as saying, "Given that India has established a strong relationship with Sheikh Hasina, the fall of the latter's regime has led to the weakening of India's influence in Bangladesh, which is a strategic setback for New Delhi, and China may benefit from it."
As a scholar who has visited Bangladesh, I believe that the above statement is nothing more than "judging others by one's own standards" and is totally inconsistent with the facts. China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, respected the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bangladesh, respected the development path independently chosen by the Bangladeshi people, and always pursued a policy of good-neighborliness and friendship for all Bangladeshi people.
Judging from the cause of the incident, the fundamental factor leading to the "change of the sky" in Bangladesh lies in its internal contradictions, not external factors, let alone external interference. There is no doubt that the quota for the civil service examination is the fuse. The deeper root is a series of internal political and economic contradictions. Politically, Hasina is the longest-serving female leader in Bangladesh and even in the world, and has served as prime minister five times. During her time in office, Hasina's tough attitude towards the opposition led to the continued accumulation of dissatisfaction among the opposition and even ordinary people. Economically, Bangladesh's labor-intensive industries represented by textiles and clothing have developed rapidly. Although the growth rate has declined recently, the overall macroeconomic indicators are still acceptable. However, the high youth unemployment rate and the continued increase in the inflation rate have led to a general increase in people's living pressure.
From the evolution of events, it is the Bangladeshis who independently decided the direction of political development. On the afternoon of August 5, Bangladesh Army Chief of Staff Zaman delivered a national speech confirming Hasina's resignation and that the military would demand the formation of an interim government. Before delivering the speech, Zaman consulted with representatives of various political parties and civil society organizations to form an interim government, calling on protesters to "maintain peace and order in the country" during the political transition. On the 6th, the President of Bangladesh dissolved the parliament, clearing the way for new elections. At present, Yunus publicly called on the people of Bangladesh to "remain calm and avoid any form of violence." Many analysts believe that Yunus is known as the "banker of the poor" and is highly supported by some people in Bangladesh. As a non-partisan person, he is more easily accepted by various political forces, which is conducive to promoting Bangladesh to smoothly pass the current transition period and lay the foundation for the future political evolution process. On August 9, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that China has noticed the establishment of the interim government of Bangladesh and welcomed it.
A careful analysis of Bangladesh's foreign policy in recent decades shows that the word "balance" is one of the most obvious characteristics. In June and July this year, Hasina visited India and China successively. This arrangement of the Bangladeshi government itself takes into account the need to "balance" between the two major countries of China and India from a geopolitical perspective, not to take sides, and to avoid misunderstandings. Some Western media and Indian people should not view the relationship between Bangladesh and China and India with a zero-sum mentality. A person will have many good friends in his life, and a country will not have only one good friend in its development. For example, Obaidul Kader, general secretary of the Bangladesh People's League, once called India a "political friend", while he also emphasized that China is a necessary "development friend" for Bangladesh.
As far as China-Bangladesh relations are concerned, China and Bangladesh have been good neighbors and good friends since ancient times, with a history of friendly exchanges that stretches for thousands of years. Over the past 49 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the traditional friendship between China and Bangladesh has become stronger over time, mutual trust has continued to deepen, and practical cooperation has yielded fruitful results. Bangladesh is the first South Asian country to join and participate in the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative. The two countries have achieved a series of cooperation results in infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and power grids, 4G network expansion and upgrading, trade, investment, finance, digital construction, and social livelihood. Against this background, the two countries unanimously agreed to deepen the docking of development strategies, promote cooperation in the joint construction of the "Belt and Road", and upgrade China-Bangladesh relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership. A set of data also reflects the relationship between China and Bangladesh: China has remained Bangladesh's largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years and is also Bangladesh's second largest source of foreign investment. China has built 7 railways, 12 roads, 21 bridges and 31 power stations in Bangladesh. It can be said that China has made important contributions to the social and economic development of Bangladesh.
It is clear that whether Sheikh Hasina is in power, or Khaleda Zia, the representative of the Bangladeshi opposition, comes to power, or other governments are in power, China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, respected the development path chosen independently by the Bangladeshi people, and always pursued a policy of good neighborliness and friendship for all Bangladeshi people. Against this background, the US media quoted Indian analysts as saying that they were "worried about China playing a more important role in Bangladesh", which undoubtedly exposed that some countries and some people in the 21st century are still stuck in the past Cold War mentality and zero-sum game. (The author is a researcher at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations and deputy director of the South Asia Institute)
