A nine-member delegation of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, is scheduled to visit China next Sunday in response to a formal invitation from Communist Party of China (CPC).
According to BNP media cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan, the visit aims to enhance bilateral relations and facilitate an exchange of party-level experiences.
The delegation includes BNP Standing Committee members Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Begum Selima Rahman, and Dr AZM Zahid Hossain. They will be joined by three advisers to the party chairperson—Zahir Uddin Swapan, Ismail Zabiullah, and Professor Sukomal Barua—as well as the media cell convener, Dr Moudud Hossain Alamgir Pavel.
Ahead of the visit, the delegation met with China’s acting ambassador to Bangladesh at the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka on Thursday evening.
Party insiders suggest that the trip reflects BNP’s effort to strengthen diplomatic ties with China, a significant development partner for Bangladesh. With speculation of political transition in the air, BNP is increasingly perceived by observers as a 'government in waiting,' pending the next national election.
BNP leaders also interpret the Chinese invitation as part of Beijing’s broader diplomatic approach to engage with various political forces in Bangladesh.
Following the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina-led government on August 5 last year, China has expanded its diplomatic outreach to major political entities in the country, including BNP, the newly formed Nationalist Citizen Party (NCP), and several Islamist parties.
Earlier, on February 24, a 21-member delegation comprising leaders from eight political parties, including BNP, undertook an 11-day visit to China. That group was led by BNP Standing Committee member Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan.
During that visit, the delegation met with CPC officials in Beijing, Shaanxi, and Yunnan provinces. Chinese authorities said the engagement was part of their commitment to fostering multiparty relations in the post-transition political landscape of Bangladesh.
