ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how the contestation between these two countries played out and locates the rivalry within the larger context of geo-politics of the relationship between Bangladesh and India, and Bangladesh and China. The economy saw a sudden slump, causing hardship to the middle class and the poorer segments of society. As the efforts to develop vaccines in England by Oxford University with AstraZeneca received a boost and the United States embarked into Operation Warp Speed with Moderna and Pfizer working towards developing the vaccine in March 2020, it became evident that if a vaccine was developed, access to it for the countries with little resources would become a challenge. One of the critical factors for the ongoing contestation between India and China in Bangladesh has been due to the conspicuous absence of the United States in the past decade.
