Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded his trip to Bangladesh and committed to $24 billion in loans to the developing country.
The deals were to provide support for infrastructure including the construction of a seaport, railways and power plants.
Bangladesh junior finance minister M.A. Mannan said, "Xi's visit will set a new milestone. A record amount of loan agreements will be signed during the visit, roughly $24 billion."
He added, "Our infrastructure needs are big, so we need huge loans."
The construction of a deep seaport that has been on hold for years will finally begin. The port is located in Sonadia.
Zhao Gancheng, director of South Asia Studies at Shanghai Institute for International Studies, said, "I really don't think there is a zero sum game going on in Bangladesh between China and India. Bangladesh welcomes both Chinese and Indian investment."
The expert said that the partnership between India, China and Bangladesh is part of the One Belt initiative that will be equally beneficial to the neighboring countries of the Indian subcontinent.
He added, "Bangladesh has an enormous need for investment, and I don't think it's going to become a site for strategic competition, a game between the great powers or a pawn."
According to American journalist Wade Shepard, the seaport in Bangladesh is crucial to world trade. China's initiatives to develop it will be a major advantage.
He said, "Although a small country, Bangladesh is of clutch geopolitical importance, being located in the armpit of India and right on the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean region contains 25 percent of the world's land, 40 percent of its oil and gas reserves, and a third of the global population. It hosts one of the world's busiest and most important shipping lanes, which supplies East Asia with the bulk of its Middle Eastern crude oil. "