The Chinese government accorded a warm welcome to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman upon his arrival in Beijing on Wednesday evening from the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian.

The Prime Minister arrived at Beijing Chaoyang Railway Station by high-speed train at 5:35pm local time, reports UNB.

China’s Minister of Customs and Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Committee of the General Administration of Customs, Ms Sun Meijun, received Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and his wife, Dr Zubaida Rahman, at the station.

At that time, two children presented them with bouquets.

The Prime Minister was also given a static guard of honour at the station before being escorted in a special motorcade to the Diaoyutai State Guest House, where he and his delegation will stay during their visit to the Chinese capital.

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister left Dalian North Railway Station at 1:56pm local time aboard the train for Beijing after concluding his engagements at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Annual Meeting of the New Champions, commonly known as the Summer Davos Forum.

Tarique Rahman was accompanied by Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Aninda Islam Amit, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir, Adviser on Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Mahdi Amin, Defence Adviser AKM Shamsul Islam, Additional Press Secretary Atikur Rahman Rumon, Deputy Press Secretary Jahidul Islam Rony and other officials.

Tarique Rahman’s arrival in Beijing marks the start of the official segment of his visit at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

According to the programme schedule, Premier Li will accord the Bangladeshi Prime Minister a formal red-carpet reception at the Great Hall of the People on Thursday.

The two leaders are expected to hold bilateral talks and lead high-level delegation meetings focusing on strengthening cooperation in trade, investment, infrastructure development, connectivity, energy and other areas of mutual interest.

The Prime Minister is also scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and hold discussions with senior leaders of the Communist Party of China.

Before travelling to Beijing, Tarique Rahman participated in the WEF summit in Dalian, where more than 1,700 representatives from over 90 countries and regions gathered to discuss global economic challenges and opportunities.

On Tuesday, he addressed a session titled “Climate Leadership in a Shifting Global Landscape”, where he called for greater international action on climate finance, adaptation and the operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund.

He also held meetings with several world leaders and senior officials on the sidelines of the forum, including WEF President and Chief Executive Officer Alois Zwinggi and Kazakhstan Prime Minister Oljas Bektenov.

During the summit, Tarique Rahman joined an official dinner hosted by Chinese Premier Li Qiang for heads of government attending the forum.

The Prime Minister arrived in Dalian on Monday evening after concluding a two-day official visit to Malaysia, his first overseas trip since assuming office on February 17 following the BNP’s victory in the 13th parliamentary election.

He is expected to return to Dhaka on the night of June 26 after completing his China visit, bringing to an end his first official overseas tour as Prime Minister.