Bangladesh: Chinese Development Finance Profile, 2000-2022

This country profile of Bangladesh provides a detailed overview of the scale, scope, and composition of Chinese state-directed financing to Bangladesh between 2000 and 2022. It includes granular information on key trends in China’s loan and grant-financed commitments, its lending portfolio, ESG risks in its infrastructure projects, and contractual safeguards adoption and implementation.

Between 2000 and 2022, China has directed $21.4 billion in loan and grant-financed commitments and 155 projects to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.Most of this financing was directed toward the energy and transport sectors, including large-scale power generation projects and upgrades to Dhaka’s transport infrastructure. A 2018 surge in financing reflected Beijing’s growing interest in cementing Bangladesh’s role as a Belt and Road hub in South Asia. 

The insights in this profile are derived from AidData’s Global Chinese Development Finance Dataset, Version 3.0, and the sources referenced therein. Additional 2022 data collection is based on a forthcoming dataset version launching later this year.