1
Alternative Perspectives:
On Chinese infrastructure projects in
Bangladesh
2 Alternative perspectives:
On Chinese infrastructure projects in Bangladesh
Author: Lavinia Castellan Student number: 11124318
Email: laviniacastellan@gmail.com Date: September 26, 2016
Place: Amsterdam, the Netherlands. University of Amsterdam
Department of Anthropology
Contemporary Asian studies masters program Supervisor: Dr. Shanshan Lan
Reader: Gerben Nooteboom Reader: Dr L.M. Douw Word count: 21,327 Page count: 105
4 Acknowledgements
Talks of the rise of China as one of the most important phenomenon of our
contemporary world arouse my curiosity to better understand the world we live in and motivated me to take on this program. Having lived in Shenzhen China for four years and in Dhaka Bangladesh for two years prior to coming to the Netherlands enabled me to navigate within the two cultures and gave me a particular attachment to both countries. My previous studies in international relations during my bachelors made the right combination of qualities that put together made this year a joyful one to further explore. Often times I wondered about my purpose for having lived in these two places, during the course of this year I felt this masters gave additional meaning to those previous experiences.
The process of writing a thesis is extensive and challenging, I would not have been able to go through with it without the support of a wonderful group of people that made it possible. I would like to pay tribute to the following. To Shanshan Lan for her incredible amount of patience and exceptional guidance’s from the start until the end. She gave this thesis her valuable time, effort, analysis and advice in every stage that I feel is exceptional. She challenged me and motivated me to dig deeper into themes and ideas. I am thankful that she allowed me to be one of her students. I would like to thank Gerben Nooteboom for teaching us the necessary skills to go into the field. Skills in observation, negotiation and interviewing that will be lifelong qualities I hope to take along with me in my future journeys. I would like to thank the University of Amsterdam and the professors of Contemporary Asian studies program for organizing this unique course that opened my eyes and gave the ability to think critically about my
surroundings.
During my stay in Bangladesh I had the opportunity to meet some great people who openly discussed with me their ideas and feelings. A special thank you to Mr. Yu for welcoming me to the Chinese community of Dhaka and always being eager to share with me his work life, ideas, and introducing me to more respondents. I would like to recognize those respondents from Bangladesh and other nationalities that I met along the way, who I now consider friends, who were curious and willing to talk to me about their view of China in Bangladesh. I am also grateful to my family, my father and mother, for supporting me to pursue higher education, for having trust and faith in me to never stop investing in education as they say it’s the best legacy they want to leave for their children. I dedicate this to Domenica. Finally, there are errors in this thesis and I apologize in advance for this, I bear responsibility for them.
5 Table of content
PART 1: RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
Chapter One: The One Belt One Road in Bangladesh 9
1.1 Motivation 10
1.2 Background information 12
1.3 Research question and sub questions 14
1.4 History of Chinese aid and African and Asia interactions 16
1.5 String of pearls theory 20
1.6 Methodology 22
1.7 Limitations 26
1.5 Thesis outline 28
Chapter Two: Bangladesh between two giants, India and China 31
2.1 A brief history of Bangladesh 32
2.2 Bangladesh need for infrastructure improvement 35 2.3 Bangladesh growing economy 38
2.4 Bangladesh and foreign direct investment 39 2.5 China Bangladesh relations 42
6 PART 2: RESEARCH FINDINGS
Chapter Three: Different perceptions of Chinese in Bangladesh 45
3.1 Perception of Chinese in Bangladesh 47
3.2 Chinese perspective on their influence in Bangladesh 53
3.3 Connecting the dots 59
Chapter Four: The Silent Revival of the Bangladesh Railway 61
4.1 The railway then and the railway now 63
4.2 The China railway company in Bangladesh 65 4.3 China and Western debate 67
4.4 Social reality of local discussion of the railway 69
4.5 The Tazara Railway 71 Chapter Five: the “Padma Bridge” the World Bank initiation and China’s tentative completion 77
5.1 The multipurpose Padma Bridge 78
7
5.3 The Washington and the Beijing consensus 83
5.4 From Challenge to opportunity 85
5.5 Solutions and mixed messages 85
5.6 Chinese perspective about the Padma Bridge 89
5.7 Western perspective about the Chinese role in this project 90
5.8 Current situation of the project 91
PART 3: CONCLUSION & DISCUSSION Chapter six: Conclusions 93
Reference 97
9
Chapter one
10 1.1 Motivation
China’s global presence has sparked a lot of anticipation and much debate. Difference of opinions ranges from claims over hegemonic dominance, to praises over an alternative development model departing from the traditional western north south cooperation. Most existing information comes from the experiences of African countries and their interaction with China. Whereas most Western academic articles often portray China in the first category, the Chinese government stance for their motivations is non-interference, win-win, and friendship for mutual benefit in its ‘going abroad’ policy. Going abroad or ‘going out’ strategy is a term often used to describe China’s foreign policy. Foreign development aid since the end of World War II has increased in
significance within international relations as a way of developing strategic interests and improving the international environment (He, 2008). China stands that its motivation are mainly humanitarian driven, while most Western media claims that Chinese motifs may have more to do with regional dominance than with moral obligations, there remains a clear dual division of views.
The two approaches of Western and Chinese foreign investment and aid goals have been coined with the terms “Washington consensus” and “Beijing consensus”. The Beijing consensus is viewed as an alternative model of donor and recipient exchange that avoids the paternalism that has come to characterize aid from the West (Brautigam 2009, Chen 2007, and Alden 2006). This model emerged in the 1960s and has matured over time with distinctions as well as similarities with the Washington consensus.
11 Scholars such as Brautigam (2009) and Shambaugh (2013) claim that China uses aid not only as a tool of foreign policy and a means to build political support abroad but as a practical instrument to promote Chinese exports and help China’s corporations expand overseas. There are a variety of factors that differentiate the Beijing consensus from the Washington consensus. The Beijing Consensus model typically involves the construction of infrastructure projects paid with loans at an advance at zero or near-zero interest rates. Another characteristic is that the Beijing consensus has no strings attached and non-interference with the recipient’s government as long as nations are supportive of China’s sovereignty. These two characteristics play an important role in shaping the exchanges in the past with African nations and in this case in Bangladesh. Furthermore those that praise this model add that China does not want to expand their military and most of their attention in “going abroad “policies are reflective of soft power projection initiatives that both complement and derive from the past decades of economic growth that China has experienced.
Criticism on the Beijing consensus are also present in the public, media and academia, claiming that the main motives are in line with practice of neocolonialism, corruption, resource extractions and self interest for the Chinese government (Norberg 2006; Lyman 2005). Many have argued that due to China’s non interference with the government of donor countries, exchanges are more hurtful than beneficial. They believe that China is hurting poverty reduction goals and fostering greater corruption by its engagements in other countries. The interplay of these two opinions lays the
12 This project was born out of an interest in Chinese foreign policy as a maturing donor and Bangladesh in the current shift in world order from a regional analysis. Bangladesh has an interesting location in Asia especially for trade with the port in Chittagong. Additionally there is virtually no existing literature about its interaction with China from people to people’s perspective. Bangladesh is an interesting actor with respect to China, as its relationships with the West are viewed as being exploitative. Alternatively, the country is an appealing case for Chinese going abroad to be analyzed and furthered explored. Diversity of opinions prevails, however what often times is lacking are the voices of the local people.
1.2 Background information
Recently the going abroad policy of the Chinese government has focused on The “New Silk Road” and the “One Belt One Road”. On September 7, 2013, President Xi Jinping announced the “One Road One Belt” plan to revive the Silk Road improving connectivity, economic engagement and trade from China to Europe. This is to include a Marine Silk road, and Silk Road Economic Belt to invest in transport via air, rail and road infrastructure projects for mutual cooperation. The National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China stated that “The Belt and Road Initiative is a way for win-win
cooperation that promotes common development and prosperity and a road towards peace and friendship by enhancing mutual understanding and trust, and strengthening all-round exchanges” (Judson, 2015). The rise of China over the past few decades has
13 made the Chinese policymakers claim historic ownership of the Silk Road and taking the initiative of the project marks a historical sign of China's growing geopolitical influence in the world. In the same year that the initiative was announced in a meeting at the United Nations headquarter Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that both Bangladesh and China could work together for the development of the people of the region. The prime minister of Bangladesh previously called China the “most dependable and consistent friend” of Bangladesh (Kumara, 2015).
Figure 1 Map of One Belt, One Road
Retrieved from http://iasbaba.com/2016/02/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-2nd-february-2016/
The Initiative is a vision for the opening-up and cooperation among the countries along the Belt and Road, the reason I chose Bangladesh is because of its important position along the Silk Road both in sea and land links with China. The New Silk Road is constructed partly by using China’s foreign reserves to offer loans to developing
countries for infrastructure and construction. Bangladesh is typically an aid recipient nation. One year after the country’s independence since 1972 the International Development Association (IDA) has been supporting Bangladesh. Since then, IDA has
14 provided more than $19 billion support to advance Bangladesh’s development priorities (World Bank, 2013). The World Bank as well as other western aid actors had supported operations for development outcomes in the nation. Recently aid from western nations has decreased, or stands complications and most notably a few have been cancelled such as the case of the Padma Bridge, which will be discussed in Chapter Five. Therefore China is a newly added player in the aid development goals, with their own
characteristics.
Bilateral exchanges between the two countries range in a variety of projects, this thesis zooms in specifically in regards to The New Silk road. The New Silk Road is a fast and evolving occurrence in the world, but with deep roots in the past. The Silk Road fund will bear the cost of the projects it aims to achieve. China set up $40 Billion dollars for the Silk Road Fund, aimed to support the connectivity of countries along the belt (Fallon, 2015). With around 80 percent of China’s oil imports passing through the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh (Kumara, 2015). It has been argued that one key motivation for Chinese involvement in the area is to bypass the Malacca Straits, raising the same
sentiments as those about the nature of Chinese presence in Africa, this time it has been named “String of Pearls” theory (Marantidou, 2014). In Africa Chinese were blamed for neocolonialism, extracting resources and collaborating with dictators, now these same sentiments of threat are present in the “String of Pearls” theory for Bangladesh. New infrastructure, including pipelines, road, and railway lines, would allow China to use an overland transport for its energy supplies both from the Middle East and Central Asia in order to bypass the Malacca Straits. String of Pearls commentators view this project as
15 a global threat, and an initiative for China to expands its military influence and hence as a result pressuring the global stability. What are often missing in such critiques are the points of view of the people living in the area where the string of pearls and the new Silk Road are located.
This project analyzes the New Silk Road and what this means to Bangladesh as the plan has profound impacts on the country and its citizens. Repeatedly Chinese government officials emphasize the importance of the effects on local people’s of
increasing cooperation; improved local livelihood, increased job creations, poverty relief, greater trade relations, cultural exchange, and a variety of other positive effects that the Belt and Road will bring to the people that are living in the region. In order to
understand these grand plans this research thus asks the following questions. Research question “What are the perceptions of Chinese involvement with infrastructure projects in Bangladesh Context?”
Sub-questions: How do the construction projects benefit Chinese-Bangladesh relations? What are the local reactions towards Chinese people, products and influence in
Bangladesh? How are the local perceptions of China’s influence in Bangladesh different from western perceptions? What are the similarities and differences between Chinese infrastructure projects in Africa and in Bangladesh?
In other words I am interested in understanding and documenting the views of locals, due to the fact that most policies and initiatives deriving from both governments emphasize the importance of the projects on local communities and people. Using
16 previous perceptions studies of Chinese in Africa I wanted to see if the same attitudes were replicated in Bangladesh or if there had been a departure of these research findings. Previous studies had concluded that the negative hype present in the media was not translated in the people’s opinions in Africa. Actually most people in many African nations had positively received Chinese influence in their significant nations. By engaging in an ethnographic research in order to obtain a balanced view of perceptions via interviews, surveys, and observations I wanted to comprehend the ties between China and Bangladesh, in a more bottom up manner I wanted to learn about
Bangladeshi attitudes towards Chinese “One Belt One Road”. Thus make a contribution to this occurring phenomenon. By adding people to people views this thesis aims to fill the gap of understanding Chinese involvement as an international player. This research seeks to contribute to the existing knowledge in the debate of China's recent greater involvement in the global arena, in particular in Bangladesh where little research on people’s perceptions has been conducted with the focus on infrastructure projects. 1.3 History of Chinese aid in Africa and Asia
The 1955 Bandung conference marked the start of modern Afro-Asian dealings for peaceful, prosperous coexistence. A year after China began to aid African nations. Bangladesh was still considered part of Pakistan and, therefore, was not an independent nation at the time, Bangladesh became independent in 1971 and it took five years for diplomatic relations with China to be established. In the early 1970s Chinese relations with Bangladesh were not greatly prominent. Bangladesh was mainly advised by
17 Pakistan to engage in relations with China. Pakistan has been the traditional partner of China in the region, and this greatly influenced Chinese-Bangladesh relations as a
strategy to move away from India’s hegemony (Pant, 2011). It has been argued that this move towards China in order to move away from India is still present today and it
influences dynamics between the three countries.
Around a decade after the Bandung conference in 1964, Chinese premier Zhou Enlai laid out eight principles that still govern China’s foreign aid as follows: (i) equality and mutual benefit; (ii) respect for sovereignty with no conditions attached; (iii) provided through interest-free or low-interest loans; (iv) promotes self-reliance, not dependency; (v) quick results; (vi) uses best-quality equipment of Chinese manufacture; (vii) emphasizes technology transfer through technical assistance; (viii) Chinese experts will live at the standard of local experts (Brautigam, 2009). The eight principles are practiced today in Chinese relations to Africa and also to South Asian nations.
China learned a great deal from its early experiences of development projects with Japan in the early 1970's, what is significant about this progress is that Chinese paid all loans in oil, which was the first time introducing this form of substitute payment. Other lessons learned from Japan are in regional emphasis, internal economic interest, and flexible approaches to aid. Japan was more concerned with investment and trade relationships (Alesina & Dollar, 2000). Japanese leaders acknowledged, not only did domestic economic growth stimulate that of neighboring countries, but the process of sustained regional growth served Japan’s own long-term economic interests as well
18 (Hook, 1995). Mutual benefits approach which is one of the key principles mentioned previously for Chinese foreign aid. Japan began to import oil from China. Japan offered to use low-interest yen loans to finance the export of $10 billion of its modern plant, industrial technology, and materials, and China agreed to pay by exporting the equivalent in crude oil and coal to Japan. These features of Japan’s early foray into resource-backed concessional loans were repeated when Japan began engaging in China. China, as a Japanese analyst described it, found it “extremely convenient” to be able to import technology and expertise from Japan, while its “vast natural resources” made China an “ideal trading partner” for Japan (Brautigam, 2009). The initiative was not widely welcome in China due to resentments over Japans past occupation in China. However, sentiments put aside the partnership proved to be a “win-win”. Chinese officials signed various contracts, which were used to finance infrastructure for transport and energy, and export capacity to Japan; projects for the modernization of China. Three aspects that characterized the early pattern of this relationship would later be repeated in China’s courtship of resource-rich countries in Africa: investment-for-resource swaps, “compensatory” trade, and media hype (Brautigam, 2009). China's lessons learned were used not only as a tool of foreign policy and a means to build political support abroad, but as a practical instrument to help China’s infant corporations expand overseas. Today in Africa, China is repeating many of the practices and the kind of deals it experienced with Japan as an aid agent for friendly states, and this thesis finds that gradually expansion of Chinese cooperation’s is occurring in the Bangladesh context.
19 Early Chinese foreign relations were mostly conducted in Africa in terms of construction of infrastructure. The Tanzania- Zambia Railway marked an important milestone for Sino-African relations in 1967. The project was finalized in 1975 and it is still highly regarded as the landmark of China’s infrastructure projects, more details about this project are provided in chapter four. The key characteristic of this railway projects was the fact that it was the first example of focusing on infrastructure by China before it had become a predominant strategy for Chinese interactions with foreign nations in order to build better relations. Bangladesh had diplomatic ties with China going back to the 1970s, but construction of infrastructure did not begin until the 2000s.
China as a developing nation, with great economic success over the past 30 years gave it a great amount of legitimacy to African and Asian nations, both deriving from similar colonizing past and hoping to become economically successful. In analyzing Chinese aid in Africa, it is interesting to evaluate its differences and similarities to Chinese aid in Bangladesh and ask if China will produce the same model in Bangladesh. Perhaps China's involvement in Bangladesh is equally controversial to that of China in Africa; speculations and anxieties over motifs of regional hegemony; resource grabbing is a continual criticism throughout the rise of China as this research will investigate in the Bangladesh context.
It has been argued that Chinese dynamics of host and recipient relations, avoiding paternalism patterns alike the West, present China as an alternative development agent in the world. Chinese aid alike Western aid has been criticized,
20 evolved, relearned and reshaped to fit current realities. Chinese aid style has operated highlighting economic prosperity and non-state interference.
It is worth mentioning that China has been heavily criticized for not providing sufficient data about foreign aid spending and fuelling the rumors that much of Chinese aid is focused on natural resources extraction, recent studies of Chinese in Africa
provide light to believe that such motifs are only partially accurate. In 2011, a report by the Guardian; China published its first report of foreign aid claiming that the majority of concessional loans, for example, have gone towards the construction of transportation, communications and electricity infrastructure, while less than 9% has gone towards the development of energy and resources such as oil and minerals. Due to the exposure of Chinese records, transparency is no longer extremely confidential.
1.4 String of Pearls theory
China’s recent project in Bangladesh bears a lot of similarities with African projects. First focusing on infrastructure, consensual loans, and the perceptions of government officials claiming the projects to be ‘win-win’ and in the benefit of the people. The debate of whether Chinese involvement’s intentions are altruistic or exploitative for Bangladesh, have already entered the sphere of academia and
international relations narrative, with the string of pearls theory. Even though China’s presence in Bangladesh is relatively recent the string of pearls theory is already criticism on it. In 2004, the U.S. defense industry consultant Booz Allen Hamilton published “Energy Futures in Asia,” According to the report China’s investments in seaports across
21 the areas of the Indian Ocean could be used to create a network of naval bases
stretching from southern China to Pakistan. This became known as the ‘string of pearls’ theory. In the following years, the concept assumed its own shape in a plethora of publications and news reports (Marantidou, 2014). Mostly the Western and Indian media has put negative connotation portraying China as an imperialist in its conduct and planning for establishing military/naval bases in the ports. Almost a decade later,
however, there is no substantial evidence of the construction of such military bases. Currently evidence suggest that China’s interest in the pearls has more to do with processing and logistical access to raw materials from the Middle East and Africa and to the European market, than plans to base warships in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka or the Maldives (Kostecka, 2010, Brunjes, 2013). Yet the string of pearls theory is still debated in western academia and the media. Bangladesh’s foreign minister stated publicly that China’s investments in port facilities in their nations are strictly commercial (Kostecka, 2010). Additionally, 80 percent of Chinese oil imports traverse the Indian Ocean through the Malacca Strait into the South China Sea and to the mainland, which also adds a new layer of interpretation about the intentions of Chinese involvement in the sea.
In Bangladesh, China has focused on the modernization of the deep-sea port in Chittagong. Plans included connecting the port with China’s western regions via rail and road links, providing an outlet to its landlocked western province of Yunnan. The overall assistance package has been estimated to be $8.7 billion. Bangladesh, once heavily reliant on foreign aid the country faces an 18 percent drop in foreign aid pledges in the first eleven months of the 2014–15 financial year (Muni, 2012) thus China represents an
22 attractive alternative for foreign partner. In a similar nature in which Africa once saw China, we witness Sino-Bangladeshi economic ties are deepening. China has agreed to make the second-biggest investment by any nation in Bangladesh by contributing two-thirds of the $659 million construction cost of a fertilizer factory in Sylhet. Other projects include the Kunming-Chittagong road and loan agreement to upgrade the country’s telecommunication network. China is already Bangladesh’s largest trading partner. Defense procurement is a core element of their partnership and China remains a major supplier of military hardware for Bangladesh’s ground forces, air force, and navy. Sheikh Hasina has described China as the “most dependable and consistent friend to Bangladesh “(Pant, 2011, 41).
China’s opening to the world economically and diplomatically in recent years has proved to be an alternative to development for other developing nations inspiring hope, negotiations, and debate. Based on experiences and pragmatic techniques of
development, China has been able to gain trust relations with many African and Asian countries. Many projects, as well as forms of implementation, have come to much criticism. China has pledged to non-interference, and it will be interesting to see what the Beijing consensus means to Bangladesh, especially as a way to refute western discourses such as the String of Pearls Theory.
1.5 Methodology
In this section I describe the different strategies taken to collect data for the thesis. The fieldwork for this project was conducted in the capital city of Bangladesh;
23 Dhaka. All data collection and interviews took place there. I resided there from January 11, 2016 to March 28, 2016. Dhaka is where the main offices for much of the important activities are located in regards to the Chinese Bangladeshi relations, such as the ministry of transportation, central office for the Chinese railway company, the Chinese embassy and the Padma bridge authority office. Additionally, I had planned to visit Chittagong but decided it was not necessary due to the fact that people in Dhaka had expressed opinions about Chittagong port as well.
Prior to arriving in Bangladesh I had categorized groups of people that I intended to interview, the groups changed slightly during the course of the fieldwork. The groups of people that I managed to interview include three categories: Chinese nationals, Bengali locals and westerners. Within these groups there are subcategories, such as locals working for the government, local business owners, and students each expressing dispersed sentiments about Chinese Bangladeshi relations. Chinese working for the China Railway Company, Padma bridge engineer, and Chinese business owners/
entrepreneurs, also I interviewed westerners living and working in Bangladesh. All these different views were done in order to obtain a more transparent picture of the
perceptions of the Chinese involvement in the country, with different voices expressed. I had previously lived in Bangladesh before coming to Amsterdam and this was an advantage as I had already established a network of people who proved to be useful. My main gatekeeper and first point of contact was a Chinese national named Mr. Yu who works for the Chinese railway company. I was able to interview him on four
24 different occasions, but decided not to record our interviews due to the fact that some of such interviews took place for many hours. He provided me with important
information about the railway in general and his ideas about his motivations for working in the project. Due to his connections, and eagerness to share with me his experiences I was able to meet other Chinese workers who are participating in implementing the “One Belt One Road” as well as Bangladeshi locals who work with Chinese companies in the construction and maintenance of the railway. Also, I had the opportunity to travel to the railway site on two occasions and conducted informal conversations and firsthand observed the railway and bridges constructed by the Chinese.
Additionally, I went on to adopt different strategies as time progressed to gain more informants often times with contacts I had made previously. The local perspective, the view of Bangladeshis towards Chinese people and Chinese projects, was very
important to me as it is an area that was mostly unexplored by academic articles and the media in general, also this group of people I felt would have the most unexpected contribution to the thesis. I wanted to compare the view of locals from Bangladesh to locals from African nations with previous studies. Subsequently, I visited an immigration office where I was able to formally interview ten young professionals working there, five male and five female between the ages of 24 and 35 about their ideas of China in
general and China in Bangladesh. During this time responses began to shift from
satisfaction with infrastructure projects towards Chinese people in general and Chinese products, this is reflective in chapter three.
25 Once I had used up all my previous contacts I moved on to hiring a translator and conducted semi structured interviews with twenty business owners at different markets in Dhaka about their interaction with Chinese, their ideas about Chinese goods and their views of Chinas involvement in the country. The decision to move towards this group of people was due to the fact that informants often times talked about Chinese products, so I decided to follow this idea, but also keep the infrastructure in mind. With the help of the translator I also visited the railway station again. There we interviewed the railway local controller and passengers. It was necessary to bring a translator and it proved to be fruitful as most of the respondents did not speak English in this specific location. It was also helpful to create a tie between myself and drawing curious people who wanted to be interviewed. In order to draw more views I also conducted a survey online attaining 133 responses, who answered a set of questions about their ideas of Chinese in Bangladesh. The questions were delivered to their mobile phones. The questions were in the Bengali local language in order to produce more organic answers as some people might not be able to read and write English. The results then were translated to English and analyzed in chapter three.
Another approach that I took to gain more informants was with the use of my phone I put an advertisement on Wechat, a popular chatting application that allows you to find people nearby. This was very successful, drawing nationals that had knowledge of Chinese Bangladeshi relations and Chinese working and living in Bangladesh as well. Often time’s people who have this application have a connection to China regardless of their nation of origin. Via Wechat I was able to meet interesting people, such as one of
26 the Chinese engineer who works for the Padma Bridge and interviewed him on one occasion for two hours. We had just met and we talked about sensitive topics, therefore I decided not to record our meeting. Online I also chatted with various people about their ideas of the railway, bridges, Padma Bridge and Chinese involvement in this. I also met a foreigner engineer who had strong sentiments about Chinas role for the Padma Bridge contributing to a more diversified data.
In internet chat rooms I was also able to observe and interpret events that had previously taken place, but were important background information especially in
regards to the Padma Bridge. Here I found experts in this topic, that I was unfortunately not able to find in real life. In blogs and chartrooms I also analyzed reactions especially from the West on Chinese interactions with Bangladesh. Prior to departing I interviewed Chinese embassy workers and I visited the Padma bridge authority office. During both visits I was able to gather interesting data that confirmed my findings about Chinese interpretation of their motifs for being in Bangladesh.
1.6 Limitations
There was a variety of challenges, disadvantages, and eventually solutions that I faced in the field, but in general I had much positive factors in my advantage. English was the common language that most of the interviews and conversations took place in. However, due to the different levels of English and my complete lack of Bangla language skills, communication proved to be difficult at times. Mr. Yu, my main Chinese informant, does not speak English and my Chinese is limited, with the use of technology and simple
27 language we managed to understand each other. Another informant who was mostly present with us during the interviews also would translate between the two of us. Bangladeshi locals depending on their educational level are able to speak English from zero to native level. It depends on the person. I was mostly speaking to people who had office jobs, access to the internet and therefore could navigate English fluently. I view that being a female foreigner student was an advantage for many aspects, contrary to common belief about females having a difficult time in a predominant Muslim society. I had easy access to offices, to people of Chinese, western and Bengali background, they were open and eager to talk to me.
Time constraint was an issue at the beginning of the fieldwork as I was not too familiar with conducting interviews and I found that many times conversations ran for a long period of time, but little useful information in regards to my project was revealed. This was both frustrating and time-consuming. However with time, I learned how to better manage time to produce more productive interviews. Sometimes discussing different topics would lead to an interesting insight that would in a way come back to my original idea.
Another limitation is that I was not able to get the views from the elite class in Bangladesh or government workers as I did not manage to attain an interview with any of them, which previously I mentioned that I had intended to interview. Furthermore, I would like to state that for some categories, such as westerners, or Chinese workers the number of correspondence was very limited and therefore this places a limitation on
28 this paper. I am aware of this fact, and as a solution I attempted to conduct more in depth interviews with these particular individuals. It may be erroneous to draw
premature conclusion about perceptions of Chinese in Bangladesh based on this thesis, however it does provide some insight information that both confirm and deviate from previous conclusions based on research conducted in African countries about
perceptions of Chinese involvement. 1.7 Thesis outline
Chapter two is a short background to Bangladesh as a country and its relations with China. This chapter explains the importance of construction of bridges due to the geography in the country. This chapter briefly describes the countries colonial past and break away from India and Pakistan, currently the country’s move away from aid into investment. Bangladesh has an attractive position for foreign investment from China. Bangladesh then has strategically position in the world. In chapter three I analyze the local perception of Chinese people, goods, and infrastructure in Bangladesh, and compare it with existing literature on perceptions of Chinese presence in Africa. I
examine how these different perceptions contradict, complement and corroborate with each other. Chapter four and five are about two case studies of Chinese infrastructure projects in Bangladesh. Chapter four discusses the Chinese Railway project in
Bangladesh and the local perception of it. I also compare and contrast it with previous a railway project, namely the Tazara railway in Tanzania. Chapter five is the case study of The Padma Bridge, which is an interesting case due to the role of corruption, the World
29 Bank, and China’s arrival in the construction of the bridge. I analyze China’s role in the project by comparing and contrasting perspectives from Chinese, Western, and local actors respectively. Chapter six concludes attempting to answer the research question that the perceptions of Chinese infrastructure projects are not as negative as the media makes it out to be but also that there are many distinctions to the previous findings in African nations, thus Bangladesh case is an appealing one.
31
Chapter two
Bangladesh between two giants, India and
China
32 Bangladesh position from a geographical, regional and strategic point of view has been advantageous in many aspects in recent times. This chapter argues that
Bangladesh stands between two giants, on the one hand India and the West who has been the traditional partners economically, culturally, and acting as aid providers. On the other hand, China, the new friend that has focused not only in assisting the country with infrastructure projects but increasingly with trade and alleviated the country when the first partner could not. Thus, Bangladesh has been able to arrange itself as an opportune player, in terms of gaining deals and keeping good relations with India and the West and at the same time moving closer to China. The absence of historical baggage and the resultant absence of a hostile domestic constituency enable
Bangladesh to pursue a clear and balanced policy towards China. Its leaders or political parties are not unduly worried about getting close to Beijing. China’s refusal to interfere in Bangladesh’s domestic debates and its non-preference of any particular party or ideology adds positively to the relations, so much so that there is a growing domestic competition in Bangladesh to promote closer ties with China (Datta, 2008). Ties with Western nations have slowly deteriorated as this thesis further explores. Indeed, Bangladesh has been careful dealing with meeting internal goals alongside sustaining good ties with different countries.
2.1 A brief History of Bangladesh
Bangladesh is located at the Bay of Bengal and the country is bordered
33 had a 24 year union with Pakistan; Bangladesh then was named East Bengal. The two countries separated with growing disputes that lead to a war, Bangladesh gained its independence in 1971. Since independence there was been interesting dynamics with India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, leading to tensions, and regional disputes, however recently the three nations have had steady prosperous relations in recent times. Interestingly better relations have developed with China in terms of economic
prosperity than with India, or Pakistan, experts have appointed that this is mainly due to the lack of conflicts between Bangladesh and China. However this chapter elucidates that that is only partly true and more details give a more profound explanation. Namely better economic ties between China and Bangladesh that has allowed better relations between the two governments. China has stepped in as a partner to Bangladesh increasingly prospering relations.
Today Bangladesh has a population of 166.2 million, it is the world's eighth-most populous country, the fifth-most populous in Asia and the third-most populous Muslim-majority country. Bangladesh is a developing country, with a market-based mixed economy and it has been projected that the country will be an important emerging market. The per capita income of Bangladesh was US$1,190 in 2014, with a GDP of US$209 billion. In South Asia, Bangladesh has the third-largest economy after those of India and Pakistan, and has the second highest foreign exchange reserves after India (Thrope, 2012).
34 In the early five years of independence, Bangladesh adopted socialist policies which proved to be a critical blunder by the Awami League. The subsequent military regime and BNP and Jatiya Party governments restored free markets and promoted the Bangladeshi private sector (Lesser, 1998). In 1991, finance minister Saifur Rahman launched a range of liberal reforms. The Bangladeshi private sector has since rapidly expanded, with numerous conglomerates now driving the economy. Major industries include textiles, pharmaceuticals, shipbuilding, steel, electronics, energy, construction materials, chemicals, ceramics, food processing, and leather goods. Export-oriented industrialization has increased in recent years, with the country's exports amounting to US$30 billion in FY2014-15. The predominant export earnings of Bangladesh come from its garments sector. The country also has a vibrant social enterprise sector, including the Nobel Peace Prize-winning microfinance institution Grameen Bank and the world's largest non-governmental development agency BRAC (Worldbank.org, 2015).
Bangladesh has been showing strong growth performance with a GDP growth rate of 6-7%. The economy however has to deal with a number of economic bottlenecks to reach the required GDP growth rate of 8-10% to fulfill Vision 2021 (Bangladesh Planning commission, 2016). The inadequacy in infrastructure is one of these major challenges and the main point of focus for this thesis. The infrastructure of the country is currently insufficient to keep pace with the growing economy.
Among all infrastructure systems, a well-knit transport and communication system connecting all regions of the country is crucial for the advancement of a developing
35 country such as Bangladesh. To enhance and facilitate the growing trade needs of the country, to accommodate the transportation needs of commuters, to attract foreign investments and to ease the transportation of goods throughout the country, a strong communication system is essential.
2.2 Bangladesh need for infrastructure improvement
The current reality of Bangladesh is one in need of infrastructure development and renewal. International players have attempted to foray into the country providing aid. The development and economic card has been played strategically by Bangladesh, China and international players, in order to attain balance of power and better
positioning. This chapter thus asks the question what is the importance of Bangladesh as an international player, both in terms of its location and its economy? And how does Bangladesh attempt to meets its goals while battling its challenges?
Bangladesh has an interesting position both by water and land making it
important for the “One belt and One Road”. Most of the country is situated on deltas of large rivers flowing from the Himalayas. Geographically Bangladesh has three significant rivers; the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna. There is a pressing need for
infrastructure projects to be developed in the country due to the limited connectivity that the rivers cause and sustained population growth in recent years has generated higher demand for electricity, transport, and telecommunication services, and contributed to widening infrastructure deficits. Better integration between rural and urban parts is vital and is lacking in the nation.
36 A functioning infrastructure system enables greater connectivity, trade, access on a national as well as on an international level. According to the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report 2009-10 Bangladesh's infrastructure industry is one of the most underdeveloped in the world. The country's infrastructure
competitiveness was ranked 126th out of 133 countries, the lowest ranking among its South Asian neighbors. The Bangladesh government outlined its rural development strategy, vision for 2021 focusing on development of infrastructure including much emphasis on roads and overall improvement of infrastructure. However, such goals cannot be reached by the government of Bangladesh alone. Roads remain unsafe & Injury and death rates from road accidents in Bangladesh are among the highest in the world. The World Health Organization believes that more than 20,000 people are killed on Bangladesh's roads every year (Kelly, 2012). Railway and bridge construction have been funded with the help of international donors. Since 2011, roads have reduced transport costs and in turn the cost of goods and services. Chapter four further
compares and contrast road and railway investment plans. China offering development in infrastructure has been an attractive alternative partner to the country.
Chittagong, located in The Bay of Bengal, is the second largest city and main port in the country. Willem Van Schendel makes the point that Chittagong was an attractive place throughout time, where people are drawn to it for commercial, cultural exchanges and networks. Unlike some foreigners that migrated permanently to the area, the Chinese traders visited the port of Chittagong to buy cotton textile and horses from Bengal and sell ceramics but there are no indications that they settled there (Van
37 Schendel, 2015, 102). Today the Bay of Bengal is still a vital strategic location for
economic reasons. It adjoins seas like the Andaman Sea and the Malacca straits are the link between south east and South Asia. Thus the significance of this port and desire for world powers to obtain a say in it extended throughout time. Chapter four touches on points about the port connecting railway structures in more detail. Currently The Chittagong port is forcing container ships to wait for the incoming and outgoing tides before they enter or leave the harbor. According to reports, these delays can cost an extra $15,000 per day, making handling much more expensive than in neighboring countries. With 15 percent of country’s GDP dependent on apparel exports, the
Bangladesh government is facing pressing need to modernize its port facilities (Kumara, 2015).
The following example illustrates how Bangladesh deals with the two giants by keeping them at ease while at the same time meeting its needs. Despite the fact that China already is the main manager of the Chittagong port, in early in 2015 China had negotiations with the country in order to build a new port the Sonadia port. China was much interested in the construction of this port as part of the “One Belt One Road” strategy. However, criticism from the West claiming that such plan was part of the “String of Pearls” theory resulted in pressure on the government of Bangladesh and consequently Japan won the contract. Bangladesh Planning Minister A.H.M. Mustafa Kamal said that “some countries, including India and the United States, are against the Chinese involvement in the project“ (Kumara, 2015). In the past China was accused of mainly engaging with African nations in order to extract natural resources. Even though
38 China presently administers the Chittagong port, the same sentiments of those in Africa of neo imperialist and military expansion have already deterred Chinas growing
influence in the region. Bangladesh then has to be very tactical, in keeping international players, the West including Japan in one hand, and China in the other to meet its
pressing needs.
These examples of various failing or nearing failing government facilities, of the roads, the Chittagong port, in connection to the railway and various bridges are all interconnected. Future projects for better infrastructure laid an opportune foundation for international players to assist Bangladesh in the construction, reconstruction and better management of such. It is important to also analyze the current economic trends and international agendas to further understand Bangladesh’s current position.
2.3 Bangladesh growing Economy
Bangladesh's economy has grown despite political instability, poor infrastructure, corruption, insufficient power supplies, slow implementation of economic reforms among other challenges that the country faces. Population below poverty line is 31.5% (2010 est.) the unemployment rate is 5%. About 40% of the population is
underemployed. Yet the economy has grown at an annual average of about 6% over the last two decades and the country reached World Bank lower-middle income status in 2015 (CIA World Fact Book, 2015). Despite the optimistic records, around 47 million people are still living below the poverty line and due to the country’s geographic setting much of these people are isolated. It is with the construction of better roads, railways
39 and bridges that there might be hope to better integrate the society of Bangladesh as a whole.
Through a mixture of traditional aid and investment Bangladesh hopes to attain its goals, whilst experiencing global shifts in the economy. Bangladesh, faces an 18 percent drop in foreign aid pledges in the first eleven months of the 2014–15 financial year and hence is desperate for Chinese investment (Kumara, 2015). In addition to the
investments of infrastructure, China is also Bangladesh’s largest trading partner. In 2012–2014, trade between the two countries was around $8.29 billion and Chinese businessmen invested $43 million. For China overseas investment became an important economic development strategy since the 1970, steadily growing. Between 1977 and 2010, China invested only US$250 million; however in 2011 alone, it invested some US$200 million in Bangladesh (Islam, 2013), China’s accumulated aid to Bangladesh reached US $1 Billion at the end of 2013 (Riaz, 2016). Bangladesh is an attractive place for investment due to its location, cheap labor/ profitability and relaxed trading laws. It is also a challenging place to conduct business due to the political instability, and current lack of proper infrastructure. Nevertheless, Bangladesh is very optimistic about its ties with China as the economic relations continue to expand.
2.4 Bangladesh and foreign direct investment
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is considered one of the vital ingredients for overall development process of a developing country like Bangladesh. Industrial development is an important pre-requisite for economic growth of a developing country. Bangladesh is
40 basically a country of agrarian economy. For her economic development, industrial economy is imperative (Afsana, 2012). Since independence, Bangladesh is trying to be a suitable country for FDI. In order to accelerate economic growth, Bangladesh opened its economy in the late 1980s to reap the benefits of FDI. In 1989 the government set up Board of Investment (BOI). The primary objective of which is aimed at attracting and facilitating investment from abroad. The government also lifted restrictions on capital and profit repatriation gradually and opened up almost all industrial sectors for
foreigners to invest either independently or jointly with the local partners. Further, the government also introduced various financial and non-financial incentives like tax exemptions for power generations, import duty exemptions for export processing industries, tax holiday schemes for undertaking investment in priority sectors and low development areas, zero duty rate for the import of capital machinery and spare parts for 100 percent export oriented industries, almost no restrictions on the entry and exit mode, and reduction of bureaucratic hassles in getting faster approvals of foreign projects. Together with all these incentives followed by a low labor cost structure, Bangladesh has been an attractive destination for FDI in the South Asian region since the late 1980s.
The trend of Inflow of FDI in Bangladesh has increased over the 1980s as compared to earlier periods and this same momentum continues in 1990s as well. The total inflow of FDI has been increasing over the years. During the period of 1977-2010, total inflows of FDI were USD 8927.9 million, among which the total inflows of FDI during 2006-2010 was USD 4158.63 million. In 1977, this inflow was USD 7 million and in
41 2008, annual FDI reached to USD 1086.31 million. Unfortunately, there was a
declination in inflows of FDI in 2010 which was USD 913.32 million (DeSilva, 2011). Bulk of the FDI into Bangladesh came from western countries up until 2010, but of late China is also becoming a big source of FDI and concessional loans for Bangladesh in multiple sectors. In fact, from the time that the “Bangladesh-China Friendship Year” was declared in 2005 through to 2008, salient examples of Chinese investment included: the commencement of direct air links between Dhaka and Beijing; an agreement on nuclear co-operation; the construction of a di-aluminium phosphate fertiliser factory; the signing of a joint venture agreement for mining coal, between Bangladesh’s state owned Petrochemical company, Petrobangla, and two Chinese companies, China National Machinery Export Import Corporation and Xushou Coal Mining Group; the creation of the US$25 million ($23.6 million), Chinese-funded, Dhaka-based Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre; and capacity-building and training assistance
programs for Bangladeshi public servants and security forces personnel.
In March 2010, both countries celebrated 35 years of diplomatic ties, which
culminated in the signing of four bilateral agreements. Following the June 2010 visit of the Chinese Vice-President to Bangladesh, more agreements were signed worth 1.8 B$. However, the centre piece of China’s growing influence in Bangladesh is symbolized by its interest in modernizing the Chittagong port, which handles around 92 per cent of the country’s import-export trade (Future Directions International, 2011). The following section describes in more detail the building up to such collaborations.
42 China and Bangladesh established diplomatic relations in 1975 since then, the affairs between the two countries has grown to cover a wide spectrum of bilateral relations (Sakhuja, 2009). Over the years, the two sides have signed a plethora of bilateral agreements. The Chinese approach, it has been argued is maintaining and promoting its diplomatic linkage in South Asia based on long term consideration. Furthermore China seems to be dealing with South Asian nations as units of whole rather than individual partners in a constantly re-definable relationship. The importance of this interactions is linked to China' role perceptions in current world politics
(Chakrabarti, 1994). On the one hand we see China further engaging in world politics, with its own agenda and on the other we see Bangladesh dealing with Chinese propositions in an advantageous matter.
Sreeradha Datta (2008) has done extensive research in Bangladesh-China Relations as an attempt to understand why there is a push from Bangladesh towards China. He made some appealing conclusions. One, that through a host of political moves, economic largesse and military linkages, China has succeeded in cultivating friendly relations with countries that are less friendly towards India, including Bangladesh and Pakistan as an attempt to avoid Indian hegemonic power in the region. Second, there is a growing domestic competition in Bangladesh to promote closer ties with China. Additionally, the author points out that Bangladesh favors China over India, despite similarities in the two cultures. This statement was expressed to me on a few occasions in interviews, when people told me, “you know a little secret, here in Bangladesh we don’t like India”, and most people interviewed had positive attitudes towards China in
43 contrast. These simple ideas shared on the ground by locals are translated by larger government operations, and are reflective of deep cultural and historical roots. This is interesting due to the similarities between Bangladesh and India, yet the pull away and push towards China. Also, compelling as in the early stages of Bangladesh, China was indifferent about political confrontations, migration issues, and other affairs of young Bangladesh, meanwhile India was more supportive of the country. China has acquired widespread political support inside the country. Various parties and groups can deal with China without having to worry about their adversaries using that to gain political capital. Both the mainstream political parties the Awami and BNP, are not afraid of being seen as pro-China (Datta, 2008. 757), therefore the Chinese card used in many instances in African nations to gain or weaken supporters is used here for positive imagine building. I find that many negative views about China are nonexistent, or very limited for the case in Bangladesh, the following chapter further explains this
phenomenon. China is courted by all Bangladeshi political parties. Indeed, there is a subtle rivalry among mainstream parties to promote closer political and economic ties with Beijing. Whereas India and Pakistan carry attachments of disputes, wars and issues, China to Bangladesh means greater economic prosperity. It is these social and historical points that mold existing perceptions from Bangladeshi locals towards Chinese foreign policy in the country. As India-Bangladesh relations have weakened, Chinese
Bangladeshi relations have strengthened, as this chapter hopes to have conveyed this is not due to cultural differences, confrontations or theories, but rather this is due to
44 growing projects and economic ties. In the following chapter I discuss how these
45
Chapter three
Different perceptions of Chinese in
Bangladesh
46 The “Chinese model” has been said to be compelling to many nations that have engaged with it, for example in Africa due to the fact that both derive from a colonial background. China’s economic growth over the past decades has made this model even more appealing to those engaging in it. This is true for Bangladesh as well. Such
interactions inspire vast dialogues among actors both academically as well as on the ground. In this chapter I will present two contributors to the discussion the local and Chinese view. Chinese are involved in Bangladesh for various reasons explained in chapter two. As a consequence, this chapter explores the different perceptions of
China’s presence in the country. For the local perceptions I interviewed business owners, young workers and conducted a survey. A commonality among this group is the need to emphasis Bangladesh’s own stand in the China-Bangladeshi relations debate and lack of awareness of Chinese influence in projects. For the Chinese view I examined the views of officials from the Chinese embassy, as well as workers in the railway and Chinese businessmen. With the exception of entrepreneurs, generally, they view China as a great contributor to Bangladesh and their presence as enhancing that connection. These groups represent different views that greatly support and often times replicate the voices of their corresponding government, hence showing a nationalistic tendency among dialogues. Additionally I argue that such dialogues are used in order to combat accusations. These voices are used as tools to respond to accusations not only by government leaders but also by nationals. Below is an overview of each dialogue in an effort to bring light to interesting themes.
47 3.1 Local perceptions on Chinese products
One of the key components of this investigation is the views of the local
Bangladeshi population, due to the fact that both Chinese and Bangladeshi leaders have proclaimed that the implementation of the “One Belt One Road” project is for the benefit of the local population. Therefore the reactions of locals are crucial. As stated previously local’s responses about their views about China in Bangladesh vary in each category, however a general presentation is stated below. First the business owners, second, young professionals and lastly the views of survey respondents are represented here bringing light into their personal experiences and observations and what this contributes to Chinese Bangladeshi relations.
Local business owners
Made in China products are found all over the world, Bangladesh is no exception to this. Toys, shoes, everyday household products, appliances and many of these goods
have entered the market in Bangladesh due to economic engagement discussed in chapter two. Bangladeshi–Chinese trade
continues to be dominated by state level transactions. China has emerged as
Bangladesh’s largest trading partner. Sreeradha Datta (2008) claims that Bangladesh is
48 highly dependent on India for food sources and other essential commodities, yet trade with China is more relaxed and not based on everyday livelihood samples. Therefore he concluded that China offers some greater inbuilt advantages to Bangladesh. While its trade with China is flourishing, Bangladesh is not dependent upon Beijing. This I argue has contributed to popularity and acceptance of China in the country. To further investigate Chinese made products in Bangladesh I visited three different markets in Dhaka and talked to the business owners about which percentage of their stores
contained Chinese products, what they think about such products and Chinese influence in their businesses and in the country as a whole. I foundthat these markets have a large percentage of goods coming from China. Of the twenty stores visited some had only Chinese products, whereas others have less. The markets cater mainly to middle income consumers and are popular places for locals to buy their household items.
In an interview one shop owner, similarly to those interviewed for this study, claimed that "We bring here high quality products from China. They (products) offer good services and we sell the products with official guarantees. We often find our customers very happy with the Chinese products. China is also very good in many other ways as a country, beyond electronics.”(BRICS studies, 2016) Similarly those people I interviewed are aware of China’s importance to the Bangladeshi economy. In regards to the products, business owners were satisfied for the most part. Some had complaints about the products being of low quality and the fact that this has caused a decrease in demand and overtime loss of customer confidence. Many attribute their decision to buy products from China to the fact that they are able to make high profits. Those
49 businesses that do not have Chinese products criticized their rivals for driving their businesses near to closure due to low prices. In sum, Chinese products are available and influential in Bangladesh. While different in quality, price of the products are low and this in turn creates more competition which leads to lower prices for the consumers, which is a positive effect for the Bangladesh economy.
One specific product can lead to positive social consequences in the country as a whole, as the following example illustrate for Africa and Bangladesh. “African
consumers benefit from cheap products offered by Chinese firms. For instance, Chinese plastic sandals conquered the whole African continent in the last years. That changed the daily life of African women and children enormously in that way that going shoeless is [in] the past in poor African countries” (Hess and Aido, 2013. 113). Similarly, during the course of the fieldwork, there was a boom in the consumption of electronic mosquito rackets in Dhaka, which were found almost everywhere in the city. This product is made in China and is an extremely popular household item and beneficial for the prevention of mosquito prone diseases, such as dengue that frequently affects the country. Many people are aware that this kind of cheap and available product comes from China and they are happy with its consumption.
In regards to China as a country all of the twenty shop keepers told me that China is a friend to Bangladesh, only one person said that Bangladesh is now growing dependent on China and he is personally worried about what the future will be as ties grow closer. He feels that his business is not able to prosper due to the fact that the
50 products have a high profit at first, but over time his store has lost customers. In general, however people are happy about the availability of Chinese products and this point was further explained to me by young professionals.
Young professionals
I also interviewed a group of young professionals working in an immigration office about their perceptions of Chinese products and China in Bangladesh. They made appealing correlations to the accessibility of products to consequences of everyday life experiences, attributing China positively to social enhancement in Bangladesh. Those people interviewed thought that the import of products was good for the country. One informant told me China has allowed Bangladesh to have a “not luxurious, but
comfortable lifestyle”. Another informant told me that the Chinese have opened the minds of the people in Bangladesh. As he later elaborated this was because anyone rich, poor, educated or not, had reasonable access to a phone and therefore access to the internet and having access to the internet means having access to the world. He said, “You know the rickshaw driver down there, he asked me to please give him the code for the WIFI of the office, and they do all their transactions and reservations on their
mobiles. If they didn’t have these Chinese phones, how else can they do so?”(Rakib) People in Africa also had a similar view about Chinese products benefiting the community. In the survey of Sautman and Yan (2007) found that in Cameroon 81
percent of the population welcomed Chinese products, mainly as affordable to the poor and aiding locals to set up businesses; 35 percent cited affordable Chinese motorbikes
51 creating taxi jobs for young men, thus reducing the crime rate. Here we see a
commodity changing the way of life, by enhancing communication via telephones and creating job opportunities for taxi drivers. Interestingly, those interviewed attribute China and Chinese products to this improvement of life standards.
Survey
I conducted an anonymous survey online asking seven questions in regards to general perceptions of Chinese in Bangladesh. The questions were derived from
previous studies about African perceptions on Chinese influence, I wanted to explore if similar results could be found for the Bangladesh case. 173 people responded to the survey from which 133 completed full answers, correspondents were between ages 18 to 48, 33 of the respondents were female and 140 male. The majority of the responses were positive which is consistent with African results, yet at times responses and themes shifted away from previous findings.
The first question “what is your view of the Chinese?” 100 out of 139 responses said that China helped with economic development. Second most dominant answer was that they felt “Help but are also source of problems for local people”. What is striking about this question is that not a single person responded negatively. People do not feel that China is harmful to the country. When asked about China’s policies in Bangladesh compared with Western policies, about half of the respondents thought that Chinese policies are slightly more favorable than westerners, and the other half thought that China’s policies are much more beneficial to Bangladesh than they are to China. These
52 findings are similar to that of the 2007 Pew Global Attitudes Survey asked Africans in ten countries to compare the influences of China and the US in their own countries. In nine of the ten countries, by margins of 61 to 91 percent, African respondents said the Chinese influence was good (Sautman and Yan, 2007). The results of that survey further explained that Africans felt neglected by the United States and the West. The results of the Bangladesh survey show a different stance, one in which China, the West and Bangladesh collaborate to meet developmental goals as it is reflective in this survey results.
Another part of the questionnaire worth analysis is about Chinese people and Chinese projects acceptance. Most people responded saying that they are very satisfied or satisfied with the construction projects by the Chinese. Additionally in the survey I included questions about adaption of Chinese to local society. Respondents view
Chinese as adapted, hardworking, disciplined and friendly. There were no comments on unfriendly, racist, opportunity seeker, selfish, not social or not disciplined, showing that those who answered the questionnaire have a positive impression of Chinese people. Below is a tentative reasoning why this is.
In the Bangladesh context a lot of tensions and conflicts are nonexistent compared to African nations. There are no migration issues of Chinese coming into Bangladesh, there are no labor disputes among locals and Chinese, for example in Zambia shooting in a Chinese mining company. Chinese living in Bangladesh for the most part are only there for temporary missions, and more recently engage in higher skilled
