Chinese Strategic Hedge in Bangladesh through Investment

Abstract

During the last decade, the surge in Chinese outbound foreign direct investment in Bangladesh has been met with anxiety, often invoking national security concerns. Most scholars explain China’s investment with the connection of economic interests and market expansion. Scholars have not paid enough attention to the geostrategic rationale behind China’s investment statecraft towards Bangladesh. This study centres on the question: What economic and non-economic (geostrategic) factors drive the growing Chinese investment footprint in Bangladesh? Following the qualitative research approach, this study argues that along with economic incentives, non-economic issues such as security and strategic competition with India are the significant determinants of the Chinese increasing investment footprint in Bangladesh, which is beyond the notion of win–win cooperation enhancing China’s regional status and leadership in South Asia. This study promises to contribute to the literature on the Chinese political economy, providing a theoretically nuanced treatment of Chinese investment statecraft concerning neoclassical realism.