Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, has said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been especially adept at balancing relations with “developed and developing worlds, with India and China, with West and non-West, and so on.”
"This is a country that, much like India, has showed a strong capacity to balance rivalries instead of succumb to them," he was quoted as saying in a report published by DW on Thursday.
Kugelman said he believes Bangladesh will not be forced to choose a side and will be able to balance between the superpowers quite well.
He said Bangladesh is successfully "reaping the benefits of great power competition" in its relations with China and India.
"Its economic and defence ties with Beijing have grown significantly in recent years. We've gotten to the point where China is financing Bangladesh's first submarine base. This is another reflection of Dhaka's successes as a balancer," the analyst added.