20 Oct 2026
Global Delegation of Legislators at Great Hall of the People
The former Vice-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary China Group took part in a high-level meeting with Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 14 October 2026. The encounter formed part of a broader international gathering of legislators and was later featured on CCTV’s flagship evening news programme, Xinwen Lianbo.
Logan, who represented Bolton North East in the UK House of Commons from 2019 to 2024, joined a delegation of parliamentarians and former legislators from around the world. The group attended the 2026 Legislators Forum for Friendly Exchanges, held primarily in Tianjin on 13 October before the Beijing session. According to official reports, the forum brought together 66 legislators and former legislators from 52 countries, regions and international organisations across five continents, alongside Chinese deputies. Discussions covered topics including grassroots governance, industrial-education integration, cultural inheritance, urban renewal and green development.
Zhao Leji, born in 1957 in Qinghai province, ranks as the third-highest member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee, after General Secretary Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. A graduate of Peking University’s philosophy department, he previously served as Party Secretary of Qinghai and Shaanxi provinces, head of the Party’s Organisation Department, and Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Since March 2023 he has chaired the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislative body.
During the meeting, Zhao briefed participants on China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) and emphasised the National People’s Congress’s readiness to deepen exchanges with foreign legislatures, promote multilateralism and support practical cooperation.
The venue itself carries profound symbolic weight. The Great Hall of the People, completed in 1959 on the western edge of Tiananmen Square, serves as the primary meeting place for the National People’s Congress and major state ceremonies. Its vast auditorium can seat around 10,000 people, and the complex hosts legislative sessions, diplomatic receptions and national celebrations.
As one of the “Ten Great Buildings” constructed to mark the tenth anniversary of the People’s Republic, it remains a central emblem of Chinese political authority and national unity.
In a personal reflection shared afterwards, Logan noted that Zhao had once been Governor of Qinghai - the same province Logan visited extensively in the early 2010s - and that both men had studied at Peking University, albeit decades apart. The meeting underscored ongoing efforts to foster dialogue between legislators from diverse political systems amid a complex global landscape.