The Reasons Why Bangladesh’s Two Major Political Parties Have Friendly Policies Towards China After The Cold War

Bangladesh held its first truly democratic elections in 1991.Since then,two major parties,the Nationalist Party and the Awami League,have alternated in power:the Nationalist Party was in power from 1991 to 1995 and 2001 to 2006;The Awami League has been in power from 1996 to 2001 and from 2009 until now.Although there are differences in ideology,social foundation and domestic policy priorities between the two parties,whichever party comes to power has a friendly policy towards China,and Bangladesh has maintained good relations with China.Since 1991,the two parties have been in power,and the bilateral relations between China and Bangladesh have been continuously improved.The bilateral cooperation in economic,military and cultural fields has been expanded and deepened.At the personal level of policy makers,the leaders of the two major political parties derive their belief in friendly policies toward China from the diplomatic philosophy of the "clan politics";And the stable position of the leaders makes the friendly policies of the two parties towards China stable.At the state and society level,mainly includes the national political system,economic basis and social environment factors of medium.First,in terms of political system,The electoral system requires political parties to choose China policies that meet the interests of voters;And the ruling party’s control over the political system in the political power structure ensures the formulation and implementation of China-friendly policies.Second,in terms of economic foundation,Bangladesh has a relatively low level of economic development,and the gap between China and Bangladesh in economic strength has widened.There is a need for economic cooperation between Bangladesh and China.Bangladesh’s domestic economic structure determines the high foreign dependence,in the field of economic and trade both parties need to carry out friendly policies to strengthen economic and trade exchanges with China.Third,in terms of social environment,Bangladeshi society has a broad recognition of China,and the foreign policy of political parties friendly to China has been widely supported by social interest groups.At the level of international system,it includes macro elements such as international structure and regional structure.First,in terms of structural power balance,Bangladesh’s status as a "small state" in the international system determines its dependence on external peaceful environment and economic resources.Secondly,in terms of regional structure,as the strategic competition between great powers continues to intensify,the geopolitical structure in Indo-Pacific Area also changes accordingly.Bangladeshi political parties prefer to adopt friendly policies to balance the great power competition.In addition,China and Bangladesh have the geographical advantage of being close to each other but not bordering on each other.At present,Bangladeshi political parties’friendly policies towards China face major challenges such as the trade imbalance between China and Bangladesh and the Rohingya refugee issue.Bangladesh’s major political parties will maintain their friendly policy towards China,upgrade their economic and trade cooperation policies and promote their strategic policy of closer engagement with China.