'Upset' Bangladesh PM Hasina cuts short China visit, returns to Dhaka

In an unusual move, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina cut short her trip to Beijing this week and returned to Dhaka, indicating that the desired objective was not achieved from the visit.

Hasina may have been upset over China not fulfilling its promise of financial support and extending appropriate protocol to her, ET has learnt. While China had promised $5 billion loan assistance to Dhaka ahead of the visit, it eventually assured a package of only about $100 million during the trip, said people aware of the matter.

Hasina had also expected to hold a lengthy meeting with President Xi Jingping but the Chinese President met her briefly, leaving the Chinese PM as her principal interlocutor, the people said, adding even foreign minister Wang Yi did not call on the visiting PM.


State-run Chinese media also did not give adequate coverage to Hasina's visit, which was rare as any visiting leader tends to get prominent exposure in official media.

These developments may have cast a shadow over the visit, influencing Hasina's decision to return home ahead of schedule in pretext of attending to her daughter's health, people said. Hasina, who was scheduled to return from Beijing on Thursday, cut short her visit by a day and took a return flight on Wednesday night.

Interestingly, Hasina resisted pressure from China and visited New Delhi ahead of her Beijing trip. In fact, she visited India twice in June -- the first time to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Modi 3.0.

On Wednesday, Hasina met President Xi and her Chinese counterpart Li Qiang in Beijing as the two countries signed 21 agreements and announced seven more projects to further elevate bilateral ties. Among the new projects announced were the 'Conclusion of Joint Feasibility Study on China-Bangladesh Free Trade Agreement' and 'Commencement of Negotiation on the Optimisation of China-Bangladesh Bilateral Investment Treaty'.