Huge trade imbalance is one of the major issues of concern for Bangladesh-China economic relations. Since the beginning, balance of trade has been overwhelming against Bangladesh and the growth rate of bilateral trade has remained highly in favour of China. Bangladesh’s trade with China in apparel, the highest export earning sector of Bangladesh, is also not satisfactory. China accounts for 47 per cent of Bangladesh’s textile imports and it is also the source of textiles for Pakistan and Vietnam, registering 71 per cent and 50 per cent respectively (McKinsey Global Institute, 2019). China is the largest source of fabric for Bangladesh’s readymade garment (RMG) sector followed by India. Bangladesh imports around $5 bn worth of fabric annually from China, while from India nearly worth $2 bn. Although China is one of the export destinations of Bangladeshi apparel items, mainly cotton-based, the export volume is too small compared to that of the European Union (EU) countries and the United States.

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