High-level meetings with President and Prime Minister, political dialogue and new institutional initiative on agendaDiplomatic Correspondent: Liu Haixing, Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, arrived in Dhaka late Tuesday night on a three-day visit aimed at strengthening political engagement and expanding bilateral cooperation between Bangladesh and China.His visit comes at a significant time for Bangladesh-China relations, with high-level political meetings, discussions on party-to-party cooperation and initiatives to deepen institutional ties featuring prominently on his itinerary.During the visit, Liu is scheduled to hold separate courtesy meetings with President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. He will also participate in a political dialogue, attend programmes highlighting Bangladesh-China relations and engage with senior political and government representatives.Liu arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 11:00pm on Tuesday aboard an Emirates Airlines flight. Prime Minister's Deputy Press Secretary Jahidul Islam Rony confirmed his arrival.BNP Standing Committee Member and Prime Minister's Public Administration Affairs Adviser Ismail Zabiullah, BNP Vice Chairman Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, BNP Joint Secretaries General Khairul Kabir Khokon, Syed Emran Saleh Prince and Advocate Abdus Salam Azad, along with Prime Minister's Protocol Officer Kamrul Islam, among others, welcomed the Chinese delegation at the airport.Liu's formal engagements will begin at 8:20am on Wednesday with visits to the mausoleums of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital.At 10:00am, he is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Bangladesh Secretariat. The meeting is expected to provide an important opportunity to exchange views on bilateral relations, political cooperation and future areas of engagement between the two countries.A high-level Chinese delegation will accompany Liu at the meeting. Its members include Chinese Embassy Charge d'Affaires in Dhaka Dr Liu Yuyin; Peng Xiubin, Director General of the CPC International Department's Bureau of Southeast and South Asian Affairs; Hu Zhaoming, Director General of its Public Information and Communication Bureau; Li Jinyan, a Deputy Director General-level official of the Bureau of Southeast and South Asian Affairs; Wang Siqi, Director of the same bureau; and Liu Chengxiao, Deputy Division Director of the department's General Office and Assistant to the Minister.The delegation also includes English interpreter Shi Meiqi and officials Chen Yongpei, Zhang Guyu, Liu Hongru and He Yiyang.Following the meeting with the Prime Minister, Liu will call on President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at Bangabhaban at 11:00am. He will also visit the presidential palace and attend a welcome luncheon hosted by the President.One of the major highlights of the visit will be a roundtable discussion titled 'Where History Illuminates the Future: China-Bangladesh Political Parties Plus', scheduled for 2:00pm to 3:30pm at the Crystal Ballroom of Hotel InterContinental Dhaka.The programme will bring political engagement and the historical relationship between the two countries into focus. Liu is also scheduled to attend the inauguration of the Bangladesh-China Centre for Party and State Governance Studies, an initiative that could provide a platform for institutional exchanges, policy discussions and sharing of governance-related experiences.The initiative is particularly significant as political and institutional cooperation can complement the longstanding economic and diplomatic relationship between Bangladesh and China.China is an important development and economic partner of Bangladesh, with cooperation spanning infrastructure, trade, investment, energy, technology and industrial development. Continued political engagement at senior levels is therefore important for maintaining mutual understanding and identifying new opportunities for cooperation.After the roundtable, Liu will visit the Bangladesh National Museum at 3:45pm. He will subsequently visit the site of the former Chinese Embassy chancery building and the current chancery in Dhaka.In the evening, he will attend a dinner hosted by Prime Minister's Political Adviser and BNP Acting Secretary General Advocate Ruhul Kabir Rizvi at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel at 7:00pm.On Thursday, the final day of his visit, Liu will attend a livelihood support distribution programme at Shamsul Haque Khan School and College at 8:45am, reflecting a social and people-oriented dimension of the visit.He will then join a breakfast meeting with State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir at the State Guest House Padma, where diplomatic issues and bilateral cooperation are expected to feature in discussions.The Chinese delegation leader is scheduled to leave Dhaka at 12:50pm on Thursday.Liu's three-day programme combines high-level political consultations, party-to-party dialogue, institutional cooperation, cultural engagement and humanitarian activities. The visit is expected to provide further momentum to Bangladesh-China relations and reinforce the importance of sustained engagement between the political leaderships of the two countries.