South Asian countries’ reaction to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has not been uniform. Except for Pakistan, whose alliance with China and enmity with India are overt, for other countries the BRI posed the question of dealing with power competition - the India-China rivalry - as recipients of development finance. Smaller countries traditionally close to India found themselves faced with the dilemma of welcoming the BRI to reap economic benefits while simultaneously maintaining existing economic and - in the case of some - strategic relations with New Delhi. Considering the relatively less debated case of Bangladesh, this paper argues that Dhaka proved apt at navigating the opportunities and challenges posed by the BRI, balancing Chinese money with Indian influence and avoiding the debt distress which fell upon other regional BRI partners.