BNP welcomes Xi Jinping's Dhaka visit

The BNP has claimed that its founder Ziaur Rahman initiated Bangladesh's ties with China. "The Chinese president [Xi Jinping] is coming to visit Bangladesh. We welcome his tour on behalf of the BNP," Vice-Chairman Shamsuzzaman Dudu said Wednesday at a milad mahfil at the party's Nayapaltan central office, marking the holy Ashura, reports UNB. "Ziaur Rahman played the pivotal role in building the ties with China and began the diplomatic relations with the country," said Dudu, now acting as the party spokesman. The Chinese president is set to arrive in Dhaka on Friday morning on a 22-hour state visit. The visit is taking place three decades after Chinese President Li Xiannian visited Bangladesh in March, 1986.