China has warned Bangladesh that their bilateral relations will be "substantially damaged" in case Dhaka considers any kind of participation in Quad.
Talking to media persons in Dhaka, Li Jiming, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh, reportedly said that Beijing considers Quad to be an anti-China grouping.
“We do not want any form of participation of Bangladesh in this alliance, ” the Chinese ambassador was quoted as saying by Times of India.
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According to the Chinese envoy, a similar message was also conveyed by the Chinese defence minister Wei Fenghe to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina when he visited Dhaka last week.
The official readout during Wei’s visit had referred to a Chinese assertion against military alliances in South Asia that would lead to “hegemonism”, which observers took as a reference to India.
Beijing’s curt response to Bangladesh’s Quad participation reports has come in an undiplomatic way, denoting the deep annoyance the Chinese are carrying with a group that intends to curtail China’s growing influence on the Indo-Pacific areas.
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China’s tougher stance on diplomatic ties with its allies has hardened with time. Even with India, Beijing’s tougher has only sharpened from 2020 onward.
