Archive · 15 Sep 2026
China’s Bangladesh BRI Projects Expand Trade and Strategic Reach
China is helping build roads, bridges, railways and ports in Bangladesh through its Belt and Road Initiative.
These projects make it easier to move goods around the country.
They also create easier routes for Chinese products and industrial materials to enter Bangladesh.
Many projects are located near Dhaka and Chittagong.
These areas are important for Bangladesh’s economy and garment industry.
Bangladesh depends heavily on rivers and waterways to move cargo and passengers.
The new infrastructure connects these river areas with ports on the Bay of Bengal.
The analysis says this could also give China more influence in the region.
It compares China’s approach with railway development during British rule in India, which primarily served British economic interests.
China-backed Belt and Road Initiative projects are improving roads, bridges, railways and ports in Bangladesh.
The infrastructure is expanding access for Chinese manufactured goods and semi-processed industrial inputs.
Projects are concentrated largely in central and southeastern Bangladesh, especially around Dhaka and Chittagong.
The infrastructure may increase China’s influence in the Bay of Bengal and the wider Indian Ocean region.
Road and bridge projects connect major economic areas, garment-producing regions and maritime gateways along key river systems.
- Who
- China, Bangladesh and analyst Dr Sakariya Kareem, whose analysis was cited in the report.
- What
- China’s Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure projects in Bangladesh are expanding connectivity, trade access and potentially China’s regional influence.
- When
- The report does not specify a date for the projects or analysis.
- Where
- Projects are concentrated in central and southeastern Bangladesh, particularly around Dhaka and Chittagong, with links to the Bay of Bengal.
- Why
- The analysis says the infrastructure supports China’s economic interests by facilitating the movement of Chinese goods and industrial inputs, while potentially strengthening its strategic position.
- Initiative
- China’s Belt and Road Initiative
- Main infrastructure
- Roads, bridges, railways and seaport infrastructure
- Primary areas
- Dhaka and Chittagong divisions
- Key waterways
- Padma, Jamuna, Meghna and Karnaphuli river systems
- Cargo by inland waterways
- More than half of Bangladesh’s total cargo movement
- Passenger traffic by inland waterways
- Around one-quarter of Bangladesh’s passenger traffic
- Industrial link
- The connected regions are important centers of Bangladesh’s readymade garment industry