PM receives red-carpet reception at Great Hall of the People in Beijing

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was accorded a warm red-carpet reception at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday before his bilateral meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

The Prime Minister arrived at the Great Hall at 4:45pm local time in a motorcade from the Diaoyutai State Guest House, when Premier Li Qiang received him.

Following an exchange of greetings, the Chinese Premier escorted Tarique Rahman to the saluting dais along a red carpet, where a smartly turned-out contingent of the Chinese Armed Forces presented a guard of honour to the state guest.

The national anthems of Bangladesh and China were played during the ceremony. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman took the salute and inspected the guard of honour.

A gun salute was fired in honour of the Bangladesh Prime Minister.

The two prime ministers later introduced the members of their respective delegations.

To mark Tarique Rahman's visit, the Great Hall of the People and the surrounding areas on the western edge of Tiananmen Square were decorated with the national flags of Bangladesh and China.

Following the welcome ceremony, the bilateral meeting between Bangladesh and China began at the Great Hall of the People.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is leading a 25-member Bangladesh delegation at the meeting, while Premier Li Qiang is heading the Chinese delegation.

The Great Hall of the People is a state building in Beijing used for legislative and ceremonial activities by the Chinese government and the ruling Communist Party of China.

Prime Minister Tarique's visit to China follows his two-day official visit to Malaysia that began on June 21. It was his first state visit abroad since assuming office on February 17 following the 13th parliamentary election.

After concluding his Malaysia visit, Tarique Rahman travelled to Dalian, where he attended programmes of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting before arriving in Beijing on Wednesday afternoon by high-speed train.

According to Foreign Affairs Adviser Humaiun Kobir, the two prime ministers are scheduled to hold high-level talks at the Great Hall of the People, focusing on Bangladesh-China relations, trade, investment, infrastructure development and other issues of mutual interest.

Following the meeting, Bangladesh and China are expected to sign 15 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in the presence of the two prime ministers.

Later, the Chinese Premier will host a dinner in honour of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Great Hall of the People.

The Bangladesh delegation includes Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman, Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapon, Water Resources Minister Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee, State Minister for Power and Energy Aninda Islam Amit, Foreign Affairs Adviser Humaiun Kobir, Economic and Planning Adviser Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, Education Adviser Mahdi Amin, Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam and other senior officials.

This is Tarique Rahman's first visit to China as Prime Minister. He previously visited the country as a member of the delegation accompanying then Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia following her assumption of office in 2022, and had witnessed a similar red-carpet reception at the Great Hall of the People.