Since 1971, Bangladesh–China relations have evolved through distinct phases. Though China initially opposed Bangladesh’s independence and its membership in the United Nations, today, it is Bangladesh’s largest Asian trading partner, biggest defence supplier, and a reliable infrastructure development collaborator. This study examines Bangladesh’s close relations with China during the Awami League government under former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from 2009 to 2024. Despite Hasina and her party’s ‘pro-India’ image and the nature of the Sino-Indian contention, a noticeable bonhomie between Bangladesh and China flourished. Thus, adopting a neoclassical realist prism, this study analyses the structural and domestic sources of Bangladesh’s increasing closeness with China. The study finds that Bangladesh’s congeniality with China is influenced by rational calculations based on external political reality and domestic factors, such as centralisation of power, elite cohesion, convergence of policy priorities, and influence of pressure groups.
Khan et al. (Wed,) studied this question.