Analysing China’s Soft Power Influence in South Asia: Bangladesh’s Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65826/JSAI.1.3.2026.99Keywords:
China’s Soft Power, South Asia, Economic Influence, Trade Relations, Bangladesh China relations, Bangladesh and ChinaAbstract
The paper aims to study China’s soft power influence and trace the foreign policy landscape of Bangladesh’s development between 1975 and 2023. China uses culture, education, trade, media, and development assistance to strengthen its influence in South Asia, particularly Bangladesh. The relationship has been sustained through trade, collaborations in infrastructure, and technology. In recent years, there are active projects like the Belt and Road Initiative, which extends the economic cooperation between countries. Though most studies on China’s regional engagement tend to focus on economic statecraft and security issues, the soft power factors influencing Bangladesh’s perceptions, preferences, and policy inclinations seem to have been undermined. Based on Joseph Nye’s soft power theory the study aims to analyse how China utilizes the means of cultural diplomacy, educational exchanges, development discourse, and political communication to enhance its influence. The study uses the qualitative multiple-case study methodology to analyse this relationship, drawing secondary information from diverse literature, including academic journals, government documents, and media. The findings show that China’s soft power in Bangladesh is most visible and institutionalized at the political and economic elite level, particularly through infrastructure, trade, development finance, and strategic cooperation. At the societal level, China enjoys positive visibility, but its cultural and people-to-people influence remains less deeply embedded than its economic and state-centered presence. This study adds to the literature on South Asian international relations by demonstrating that China’s soft power operates more like an instrumental legitimacy instead of a cultural attraction.
References
Acharya, A. (2014). The end of American world order. Polity Press. https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=the-end-of-american-world-order-2nd-edition--9781509517077
Ahmad, S. M., & Nasrin, F. (2026). The Conflict between Corruption and Good Governance: Bangladesh’s Experience in the Last Fifteen Years (2009-2024). International Journal of Politics and International Relations (IJPIR), 1(1), 65–83. https://doi.org/10.65826/IJPIR.1.1.2026.18 DOI: https://doi.org/10.65826/IJPIR.1.1.2026.18
Alam, M. S. (2019). China-Bangladesh relation: A quest for Bangladesh’s integrating into Sino-Myanmar connectivity. Bangladesh Journal of Public Administration, 27(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.36609/bjpa.v27i1.6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.36609/bjpa.v27i1.6
Alom, M. S., Hosen, M. K., & Salam, E. A. A. (2024). China’s cultural soft power in Bangladesh: Achievements and challenges (2000–2020). Journal of Asian and African Social Science and Humanities, 10(1), 29–45. https://doi.org/10.55327/jaash.v10i1.320 DOI: https://doi.org/10.55327/jaash.v10i1.320
Baxter, C., & Rahman, S. (1991). Bangladesh votes-1991: Building democratic institutions. Asian Survey, 31(8), 683–693. https://doi.org/10.2307/2645223 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2645223
Bertocci, P. J. (1985). Bangladesh in 1984: A year of protracted turmoil. Asian Survey, 25(2), 155–168. https://doi.org/10.2307/2644299 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2644299
Bhuiyan, M. S., Uddin, A. N., & Ullah, R. (2026). CHINA’S POLICIES AND STRATEGIC RELATIONS IN SOUTH ASIA: FROM MAO ZEDONG TO XI JINPING. Malaysian Journal of International Relations, 14(1), 20-39. https://doi.org/10.22452//mjir.vol14no1.2
Chakma, B. (2015). Sheikh Hasina government’s India policy: A three-level game? Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs, 2(1), 27–51. https://doi.org/10.1177/2347797014565291 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2347797014565291
Chakrovorty, A. (2020). China’s soft power in Bangladesh: A comparative studies. American Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 5(1), 128–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/09700161.2019.1599567 DOI: https://doi.org/10.20448/801.51.128.140
Daim Fazil, M., & Ahmad, R. E. (2022). Evaluating China’s soft power discourse: Assumptions, strategies and objectives. Pakistan Languages and Humanities Review, 6(3), 82–93. https://doi.org/10.47205/plhr.2022(6-III)07 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47205/plhr.2022(6-III)07
Garver, J. W. (1992). China and South Asia. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 519, 67–85. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1046754 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716292519001006
Hossain, M. F. (2022). Chinese soft power influence in South Asia: Case studies of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh (Doctoral dissertation). The Education University of Hong Kong. https://repository.eduhk.hk
Hossain, I. (1981). Bangladesh-India relations: Issues and problems. Asian Survey, 21(11), 1115–1128. https://doi.org/10.2307/2643997 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2643997
Islam, M. N., Rahman, M. M., & Khan, M. A. (Eds.). (2025). Bangladesh–China connectivity: Archaeology, culture and soft power. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-4848-8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-4848-8
Islam, M. A., & Molla, R. (2022). Geopolitics and international negotiations: Challenges and options for Bangladesh. Bangladesh Political Science Review, 15(1), 111–142. https://doi.org/10.57074/zhwa8138 DOI: https://doi.org/10.57074/ZHWA8138
Islam, M. T. (2021, March 14). Bangladesh-China bilateral relations: Influences of geopolitics and Rohingya crisis. The Business Standard. https://www.tbsnews.net/thoughts/bangladesh-china-bilateral-relations-influences-geopolitics-and-rohingya-crisis-216052
Jain, B. M. (2018). China’s soft power diplomacy in South Asia: Myth or reality? Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs, 5(3), 327–331. https://doi.org/10.1177/2347797018799888 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2347797018799888
Jasmin, N., Huda Sakib, N., & Jaman Shishir, M. F. (2023). Chinese soft power in Bangladesh: Debt trap or shared interests? The Journal of Indian and Asian Studies, 4(1), 2350004. https://doi.org/10.1142/S2717541323500043 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1142/S2717541323500043
Kitano, N. (2018). Estimating China’s foreign aid, 2001–2013. World Development, 99, 502–515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.06.014
Kurlantzick, J. (2007). Charm offensive: How China’s soft power is transforming the world. Yale University Press.
Lee, S., Karim, Z., Khalid, N., & Zaidi, M. (2022). The push and pull factors of China’s outward foreign direct investment in BRI countries. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 28(3), 611–637. https://doi.org/10.3846/tede.2022.15907 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3846/tede.2022.15907
Liu, T. T.-T., & Tsai, T.-C. (2014). Swords into ploughshares? China’s soft power strategy in Southeast Asia and its challenges. Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional, 57(Special Issue), 28–48. https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-7329201400203 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-7329201400203
Maniruzzaman, T. (1977). Bangladesh in 1976: Struggle for survival as an independent state. Asian Survey, 17(2), 191–200. https://doi.org/10.2307/2643476 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2643476
Mahmud, K. U. (2025). Bangladesh-China relations in 2024: New context, renewed partnership (CBGA Annual Review Series 15, pp. 1–5). Center for Bangladesh and Global Affairs. https://ssrn.com/abstract=5553859, https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5553859 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5553859
Nye, J. S. (2004). When hard power undermines soft power. New Perspectives Quarterly, 21(3), 13–15. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5842.2004.00673.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5842.2004.00673.x
Obaidullah, M. (2026). Delivering attraction? How BRI implementation shapes China’s soft power in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Asian Journal of Comparative Politics. https://doi.org/10.1177/00094455261424404 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00094455261424404
Petry, J. (2022). Beyond ports, roads and railways: Chinese economic statecraft, the Belt and Road Initiative and the politics of financial infrastructures. European Journal of International Relations. https://doi.org/10.1177/13540661221126615 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/13540661221126615
Qureshi, M. L. (1984). Indian development strategy and South Asian regional cooperation. India Quarterly: A Journal of International Affairs, 40(3–4), 274–276. https://doi.org/10.1177/097492848404000304 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/097492848404000304
Rahman, M. (2021). China–Bangladesh economic diplomacy and strategic relations. Journal of International Relations and Development, 24(3), 512–530. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41268-021-00225-0
Rolland, N. (2019). China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Motives, scope, and challenges. National Bureau of Asian Research. https://www.nbr.org/publication/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-motives-scope-and-challenges/
Saimum, R. (2025). From hardware to heartware: China’s evolving military relations with Bangladesh (CSEP Working Paper). Center for Strategic & Contemporary Research.
Saimum, R. (2020). The prospect of Belt and Road Initiative in the context of Bangladesh. China Report, 56(4), 464–483. https://doi.org/10.1177/0009445520930396 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0009445520930396
Shahriar, S., Kea, S., & Qian, L. (2019). Determinants of China’s outward foreign direct investment in the Belt & Road economies: A gravity model approach. International Journal of Emerging Markets, 15(3), 427–445. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-03-2019-0230 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-03-2019-0230
Shambaugh, D. (2013). China goes global: The partial power. Oxford University Press
Sarker, M. A. (2014). Bangladesh-China relationship at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Peace and Security Review, 6(11). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349039159
Syed, M. A., & Naeem, N. (2020). Adverse economic impact by Rohingya refugees on Bangladesh: Some way forwards. International Journal of Social, Political and Economic Research, 7(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.46291/IJOSPERvol7iss1pp1-14 DOI: https://doi.org/10.46291/IJOSPERvol7iss1pp1-14
Thamim, A. R. M. (2020). The role of leader’s personality and world order on foreign policy decision making: Comparison between Sheikh Mujibur Rahman era and Sheikh Hasina era. International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation, VII(VIII), 24–38, ISSN 2321–2705
Ullah, R., Hasan, S., & Chowdury, S. R. (2018). Turkey’s soft power in Asian countries. In A. N. Yılmaz & G. Kılıçoğlu (Eds.), Yumuşak güç ve kamu diplomasisi üzerine akademik analizler: Türkiye ve dünyadan örnekler (pp. 235–286). Nobel.
Xin, L., & Worm, V. (2010). Building China’s soft power for a peaceful rise. Journal of Chinese Political Science, 16(1), 69–89. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11366-010-9130-2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11366-010-9130-2
Yasmin, L. (2023). Understanding Bangladesh–China relations: Bangladesh’s rising geopolitical agency and China’s regional and global ambitions. Journal of Contemporary East Asia Studies, 12(1), 87–109. https://doi.org/10.1080/24761028.2023.2300109 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/24761028.2023.2300109
Yildirim, N., & Aslan, M. (2020). China’s charm defensive: Image protection by acquiring mass entertainment. Pacific Focus, 35(1), 141–171. https://doi.org/10.1111/pafo.12153 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/pafo.12153
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Fahmida Nasrin, Syed Magfur Ahmad
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
