Despite some difficulties, Bangladesh is the number one place to engage all three big powers – India, China and the United States - in a bridging role, says a Singapore-based foreign affairs analyst. “Anything to do with China and India has a shadow over the United States as well. And so I think Bangladesh is the number one place to engage all three in a bridging role,” said Professor Kanti Prasad Bajpai, Vice Dean, Lee Kuan Yew School, National University of Singapore. He was speaking at a discussion this week as part of Cosmos Dialogue Distinguished Speaker’s Series, entitled “China-India Relations: Implication for South Asia.” “I think its (Bangladesh’s) diplomatic links with both China and India, probably the strongest amongst all the countries of South Asia. The kind of positive equidistance that Bangladesh has between China and India probably no other country in this region can match. It also has fairly good relations with the United States,” Prof Bajpai said. Read More: China "unswervingly mediating" between Bangladesh, Myanmar to promote Rohingya repatriation: Ambassador Yao The discussion was chaired and conducted by President of Cosmos Foundation and renowned scholar-diplomat and former Advisor on Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Caretaker Government Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury.

China-India relations are standing at a new starting point and facing new opportunities, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday when exchanging congratulatory messages with his Indian counterpart, Ram Nath Kovind, on the 70th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties.