Youth plays an important role in strengthening Belarusian-Chinese relations, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the Republic of Belarus Xie Xiaoyong said at the concert celebrating the Lantern Festival at the BSU Lyceum, BelTA has learned.

The diplomat spoke about the Chinese traditions to mark the holiday: “As for the Spring Festival, it usually refers to the period from the eve of the New Year according to the lunar calendar to the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated on the 15th day of the first month. As the last important holiday in the Chinese New Year customs, the Lantern Festival is an important time for family reunion. On this day, every family gathers together to admire the colored lanterns, eat yuanxiao dumplings and wish each other all the best.” “I am pleased and touched to see Belarusian students, under the guidance of teachers from Confucius Institutes in Belarus, delivering a magnificent performance with songs and dances to honor the Dragon Year Lantern Festival today. This demonstrates not only the brilliant achievements of the Belarusian students in learning Chinese language and Chinese culture, but also their gift to the Chinese New Year, and is a splendid celebration of the Chinese New Year of the Dragon in Belarus,” the head of the diplomatic mission said. He expressed his gratitude to all Belarusian students who took part in the concert and their teachers from Confucius Institutes.The ambassador emphasized: “Looking back at the year 2023, we can note China and Belarus continued to strengthen political mutual trust, while bilateral cooperation in various fields achieved outstanding results. Bilateral trade once again reached a record high level. The Belt and Road cooperation project is steadily advancing, and the China-Belarus Great Stone Industrial Park is developing further.” According to the diplomat, regional and humanitarian cooperation between the two countries is also yielding fruit. “Cooperation in education has also advanced significantly: the China-Belarus Association of Universities has been established, and cooperation between higher education institutions is getting closer and closer. The exchange of students is growing rapidly: now the total number of Chinese students in Belarus has exceeded 9,500, the number of Belarusian students in China has reached several hundred,” Xie Xiaoyong said. “About 50,000 people study Chinese in Belarus, and many universities in China teach the Belarusian language. We have every reason to believe that this year the Chinese-Belarusian relations of all-weather and all-round strategic partnership, including cooperation in education, will definitely develop even deeper and wider. Today I see that the Belarusian students present here show great enthusiasm for learning the Chinese language and Chinese culture, which gives me even more confidence in the future of the bilateral relations,” the diplomat said. The ambassador also expressed his opinion: “The deepening and strengthening of Chinese-Belarusian relations is inseparable from the active participation of young people. The most important thing is to pass on the friendship between China and Belarus from generation to generation.”