The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) held a Guizhou promotion in December 2016 when Minister Wang Yi announced that a trip would be arranged for the diplomatic envoys to visit the recommended region, purported to boost local cooperation with foreign countries for win-win results. The MFA Office of Foreign Missions and DSB jointly organized the trip, from 26 to 30 April, offering an opportunity for the envoys to learn more about their host country through exchanges and interactions. Aimed at “Serving China’s diplomatic endeavors and the diplomatic corps” and leveraging the DRC brand name, Mr. Yuan Weimin, DSB director general, and Ms. Hou Danna, deputy director of the MFA Office of Foreign Missions, accompanied nearly 40 senior diplomats, including 11 ambassadors from 24 countries, such as Brunei, Cyprus and Algeria, on the journey to Guizhou.

      An inland province in southwestern China, Guizhou holds a special place in China’s open strategy and national history, being one of the connecting points of the One Belt and One Road Initiative with thriving new industries of big-data, ecological development and tourism. Attaching great importance to the envoys’ visit, Lu Yongzheng, vice governor of Guizhou, and Chen Shaorong, deputy mayor of Guiyang, the provincial capital, met with the delegation respectively. Mr. Lu briefed the visitors on the development strengths and targets of the province from perspectives of economy, tourism, education and local culture as well as the achievements made in areas of scientific innovation, economy and cultural construction, providing firsthand information for the envoys in their field inspection to enhance cooperation in regard to people-to-people exchange, sightseeing, education, culture, energy and infrastructure construction. Mr. Chen invited the diplomats to participate in the China International Big-data Industry Expo to be held at Guiyang in May.

      Mr. Yuan thanked the provincial and municipal leaders for their support and assistance to the trip and commented, as a follow-up move of the MFA Guizhou promotion, the trip drew strong interest of the envoys, which would for sure boost local exchanges and cooperation and deepen people-to-people friendship between China and their home countries. Ms. Hou congratulated Guizhou on having found the way to sustainable development, focusing on cultural diversity, environment preservation and big-data industry. Her Office would make all efforts to invite more diplomats to visit the province for increased cooperation.

      In behalf of the delegation, H.E. Mrs. Magdalene Teo, ambassadress to China of Brunei, thanked for the Guizhou hospitality and remarked that her fellow visitors and she were amazed at the speed and achievement of development and deeply impressed by the plentiful ecological, natural, ethnic, cultural and tourism resources of the province. She hoped to learn from the experience of development and looked forward to more diverse exchanges and cooperation with Guizhou. Mr. Agis Loizou, ambassador of Cyprus to China, highly appreciated the caring and considerate service of DSB-HSC, saying that the service provider was always capable of bringing about pleasant surprises and touching moments to the customers. As a second timer taking part in the excursion for diplomatic missions, he declared that the Guizhou trip opened a window to learning the local customs and traditions and he looked forward to entering into cooperation with the region.

      During the trip, the diplomats visited the Beijing-Guiyang Big-data Demonstration Center, Southeast Guizhou Prefecture Museum, Shanglangde Miao Ethnic Village, Zunyi City’s Huamao Village, Meitan County’s tea plantation-processing plant, the renowned Mao-tai Liquor Company, Huangguoshu Falls and Yunfengtun Fortress. The delegation also watched a gala performance under the title of The Colorful Guizhou. The visit is an encounter with an open-minded and confident region pursuing common prosperity and well-protected nature, as represented by the achievements in the “new countryside construction”, mountain tourism, big-data industry and ecological farming in a continuously growing fashion. The speedy developments and dramatic changes as well as the ethnic minority cultures and unique eco-environment of the province won the envoys’ admiration and applauses. Being first time visitors to the province, numerous diplomats highly appreciated the fact that rapid socioeconomic development was achieved whilst the environment remained intact, declaring they wished to enter into multi-sectored cooperation with Guizhou. H.E. Mr. Denis G. Antoine, Grenadian ambassador to China, said that he believed the province was a place of natural beauties and development potentials and his country was ready to enter into mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation with it. He extended invitation to constructors from the region to take part in the airport construction in Grenada. Mr. Alhassan Bukhalifa, Algerian ambassador to China, hoped that more companies from Guizhou would “go out” and work together with Algeria.

      The visitors thanked the MFA and DSB-HSC for the considerate planning and organization of the tour. Several of them, e.g. Mrs. Magdalene Teo, made an impromptu flower-petal mosaic under the title of The Beautiful DRC at the Huamao Village to convey friendship with DSB-HSC. Upon coming back to Beijing, participating diplomats from Tajikistan, Brunei, Cyprus, Japan and New Zealand, among others, thanked the organizers through e-mail and other messages, saying, having an opportunity to learn, the visit was a success and fruitful that offered tips and fresh ideas to work with Guizhou. They commented that the success of the trip was assured by the professionalism and sense of responsibility of the Chinese staff who’d built a platform of understanding and friendship. They all anticipated to taking part in the next excursion for diplomatic missions.

      The Diplomatic Service Bureau (DSB) and Housing Service Corporation (HSC) will continue to endeavor to upgrade the service through innovation and serve the foreign diplomatic missions even better, helping them learn about and take a liking for their host country for lasting friendship, by organizing more cultural events.

HSC      

15 May 2017