Prime Minister Tarique Rahman joined a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing this morning.
Earlier, Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) of China, called on the Bangladesh prime minister at the same venue.
Prior to the meetings, the prime minister arrived at the Great Hall of the People at around 9:30am after paying tribute at the Monument to the People's Heroes in Tiananmen Square.
He paid homage to the Chinese revolutionary heroes by placing a special red-and-green wreath at the monument.
The national anthems of Bangladesh and China were played while a bugler sounded the Last Post.
After laying the wreath, the prime minister stood in solemn silence for some time as a mark of profound respect for the memory of the Chinese heroes.
Earlier, upon his arrival at Tiananmen Square at around 9:10am local time, a contingent of the Chinese Armed Forces accorded the Bangladesh prime minister a state salute.
Tarique’s wife, Dr Zubaida Rahman, and other members of the delegation were present at the time.
The PM is on a four-day official visit to China at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart, Li Qiang.
On Thursday, Bangladesh and China signed 13 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) covering bilateral cooperation in various fields following a bilateral meeting between Tarique and Li at the Great Hall of the People.
Following the meeting and the signing of the MoUs, Tarique and his delegation attended a banquet hosted by Li.
The same day, BNP and the Communist Party of China (CPC) signed an MoU at Beijing's Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.
Chinese Minister of Water Resources Li Guoying also called on the Bangladesh PM at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.
Tarique also addressed an event titled "Invest Bangladesh", jointly organised by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) at the Diaoyutai Hotel.
The prime minister, who is also the BNP chairman, held a party-to-party meeting with Liu Haixing, minister of the international department of the Communist Party of China, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.
Senior executives from several major industrial groups met the prime minister during his stay in China.
Representatives of the China International Development Cooperation Agency, China Railway Construction Corporation and China Road and Bridge Corporation, along with investors, ministers and other prominent figures, also met him to discuss ways to expand investment and trade and contribute more effectively to Bangladesh's development.
The prime minister arrived in Beijing yesterday, where he was accorded the highest state honours, including a ceremonial red-carpet reception.
Like his visits to Malaysia and the World Economic Forum's Summer Davos meeting in China, this trip was also undertaken with a small delegation of only 25 members, including 11 ministers, state ministers and advisers.
Tarique's visit to China is the second leg of his maiden official overseas tour following his visit to Malaysia.
During the first leg, he visited Malaysia at the invitation of the Malaysian PM. Despite the brief duration of the visit, he met the Malaysian king, the Malaysian PM and other senior dignitaries, and held extensive discussions on matters of mutual interest and issues concerning Bangladesh.
In the second leg of his overseas tour, the PM travelled to Dalian at the invitation of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
There, he participated in the WEF's Annual Meeting of the New Champions, widely known as the Summer Davos.
The conference brought together distinguished personalities from around the world, including the prime ministers of China, South Korea, Montenegro, Mongolia, Guinea and Kazakhstan.
The WEF president and CEO also called on Tarique. During the meeting, the prime minister highlighted Bangladesh's climate initiatives undertaken over the past four months since the formation of the government.
The prime minister is scheduled to depart Beijing for Dhaka at 5:00pm today.
