Muhammad Yunus to visit China: Will Bangladesh help PLA, Xi Jinping surround India?

Immediately after a 21-member delegation of political leaders, civil society activists, academics and journalists returned from China after a 10-day-visit, the Chief Advisor to the Interim Bangladesh Government announced his decision to visit the South Asian country on March 26, 2025. 

Muhammad Yunus will visit China first time since he took over as the head of the government on August 7, 2024, two days after a popular protest forced then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee the country and take refuge in neighbouring country India. 

The Nobel laureate will most likely meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on March 28 at the Great Hall of the People and discuss bilateral ties. 

Muhammad Yunus To Meet Chinese President Xi Jinping

Muhammad Yunus will begin his China visit on March 25, when he will attend the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) conference in Hainan province. BFA Secretary General Zhang Jun invited the chief advisor to the government. 

Beijing will also host the economist known for his microcredit endeavours to commemorate 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. 

Analysts believe India may be upset over the increasing bonhomie between its neighbouring states of Bangladesh and China. 

The meeting was announced two days after New Delhi raked up the issue of alleged persecution of minorities, including Hindus, in the South Asian country. It raised the issue at a United Nations Human Rights Council session in Geneva and pointed out that a UN fact-finding report team had found that Bangladesh "mainstreamed" the concept of "revenge violence against minorities". 

India Accuses Bangladesh Of Minority Persecution

The allegation came after hundreds of Hindus were attacked, their homes and temples ransacked and vandalized after Sheikh Hasina fled the country. 

Hasina quit the office and fled Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, after thousands of people stormed her official residence, vandalized and ransacked it and looted whatever they could. 

When Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar met his UK counterpart David Lammy at Chatham House in London on March 5, Bangladesh was one of the subjects the two leaders discussed. 

Political analysts and geostrategic experts believe Muhammad Yunus' China visit may upset New Delhi as it may set the alarm bell ringing. 

Why Is India Upset Over Bangladesh-China Bonhomie?

They point out that Beijing has been pursuing the policy of surrounding India from all sides, particularly in the Indian Ocean with its "String of Pearls" strategy. 

Under the String of Pearls strategy, Beijing is aggressively developing its bases in the Indian Ocean to augment its geopolitical influence or military existence spreading from Hainan Island to Gwadar Port in the Pakistani province of Balochistan.

The significance of this strategy can be gauged by the fact that the Chinese initiative is to create a network of ports and naval bases in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) encircling India. The main ports surrounding India are Gwadar in Pakistan, Hambantota in Sri Lanka and Sittwe in Myanmar, all these are situated in the Bay of Bengal.

The growing defence cooperation between China and Bangladesh may also upset India. 

String Of Pearl To Surround India?

Dhaka and Bangladesh signed a landmark Defense Cooperation Agreement in 2002 when Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh Nationalist Party was the prime minister of the country.

This cooperation soared after her opponent and presumably pro-India Sheikh Hasina became the head of the state. She launched an ambitious modernisation plan for the Bangladesh Armed Forces in 2009 with the help of Beijing. 

Beijing supplied Ming-class diesel-electric attack submarines, Shadhinota-class C13B corvettes, MBT-2000 Type 90-II and VT-5 light tanks, HQ-7 short-range surface-to-air missiles, and dozens of F-7BGI fighter interceptors to Dhaka. It also allowed Dhaka to build a variety of Chinese small and light weapons. 

With a change in the government that is allegedly tilted towards anti-India elements like China and Pakistan, it may gain new heights, creating further problems for New Delhi.