Bangladesh's newly elected government is sending a 20-member delegation to Beijing this week as part of its first formal outreach to China. The team, led by Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir — General Secretary of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP, the party currently in power) and Minister of Local Government — departs Dhaka on 16 April and is expected to return on 24 April. The visit signals a broadening of Bangladesh's foreign policy engagement following a transition of power, and is likely to be followed by a separate trip to China by Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman.