"I'm very willing to try the digital yuan for the Winter Olympics!"

Guyana's ambassador to China Zhou Yaxin took a recent photo.

Overseas network Fu Yongchao photographed

Chasing Chinese costume idol dramas, punching in the Forbidden City, "buying, buying, buying" on the Internet... Guyana's Ambassador to China Zhou Yaxin has a rich and colorful leisure life after busy work. As a Chinese, Zhou Yaxin grew up listening to her parents' Chinese past and is no stranger to the ancient country of the East thousands of miles away. When he was a child, he returned to Guangzhou to visit relatives, chose to study in Beijing, and entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guyana to work in China twice. In a recent interview with the People's Daily Overseas Network, Zhou Yaxin said that she was deeply honored to represent Guyana as ambassador to China and hoped to bring the people of Guizhou and China closer and closer through her efforts.

"Strong identification with Chinese culture"

Located in the northern part of the South American continent, Guyana's full name is "Guyana Cooperative Republic", and the multicultural inclusiveness is evident from the special word "cooperation" in the name of the country. Generations of people of different skin colors, such as Chinese, African, Indian, Portuguese and Indian, have taken root here, forming a unique landscape of harmonious multicultural blending in Guyana. "From an early age, our mother taught us not to forget our roots." Zhou Yaxin said.

In Guyana, the Proportion of Chinese in the population is not high, but it is known as one of the six major ethnic groups. As early as 1853, Chinese immigrants crossed the ocean to Guyana. For more than 160 years, the Chinese have actively integrated into and given back to Guyanaese society, making important contributions to the political, economic, social and cultural development of Guyana. After Guyana's independence, the first president, Arthur Chung, was of Chinese descent. "If you come to Guyana, you will find a lot of Chinese cultural elements, and there are Chinese restaurants on almost every street." Zhou Yaxin said, "I have a strong identification with Chinese culture since I was a child. ”

Studying in China is a natural decision for Zhou Yaxin. In 1996, Zhou Yaxin crossed the ocean to the homeland where her parents could not forget, and spent a pleasant study abroad time at Beijing Language and Culture University. Zhou Yaxin's eyes were full of nostalgia: "I was the only Guyana student in my class. Classmates come from all over the world, and the experience of getting together to learn Chinese is invaluable. ”

This study abroad experience also gave Zhou Yaxin the ambition to engage in friendly exchanges between the two countries. She is pleased to say that in 2014, the University of Guyana established a Confucius Institute, and now more and more Guyana students are studying in China. The young people of the two countries studying and growing together are of great significance to deepening people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. "Today's younger generation is more open and more willing to communicate and dialogue with the outside world. Hopefully, after the shadow of the new crown pneumonia epidemic dissipates, the personnel exchanges between the two countries will press the 'acceleration button'. Welcome more young Chinese into Guyana. Zhou Yaxin said.

"Chinese doctors are superb"

Although the epidemic has pressed the "pause button" for personnel exchanges between the two countries, China-Guizhou medical and health cooperation has never been interrupted. In March this year, China's covid-19 vaccine for the Guyana government arrived in Georgetown, the capital of Guyana, which is the first time that the Guizhou side has received direct assistance from a foreign government, and it is also another example of the cooperation between the two countries in fighting the epidemic. Zhou Yaxin said that many developing countries have a dose of vaccines that are difficult to find, and the people of Guyana are very grateful to China for reaching out. "China's vaccine is trustworthy." Zhou Yaxin said proudly, "All the staff of our embassy have been vaccinated with Chinese vaccines. ”

Anti-epidemic cooperation is a microcosm of the medical and health cooperation between the two countries. Since 1993, China has sent 17 medical teams to Guyana. For more than 20 years, groups of Chinese doctors have flown far away from their families and motherland, flying thousands of miles and oceans, relieving the suffering and passing on friendship to Patients in Guyana, becoming "Chinese angels" in the eyes of the locals. Zhou Yaxin recalls that when she was fourteen or fifteen years old, she witnessed the miracle of Chinese doctors snatching patients back from the death line. "A young man my parents knew was robbed and shot, and his life was in danger. When he was rushed to the hospital, the doctor on duty was unable to perform the operation. My parents contacted the doctor of the Chinese medical team at two o'clock in the morning, and the Chinese doctor successfully completed the operation and saved the young man's life. It was a miracle that the bullet was only a few millimeters away from the key point, and the Chinese doctors were superbly skilled. ”

The story of Chinese doctors saving lives and helping the injured, Zhou Yaxin has seen a lot of it with her own eyes and heard a lot of it. She worked in the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guyana, working closely with a number of Chinese medical teams to aid Guizhou and forged a deep friendship. "I have personally seen the continuous expansion of the scale of China's medical teams to aid Guyana, which has made an important contribution to the development of health in Guyana. This is a successful example of health cooperation between Guizhou and China, and I am very proud to be involved in it. Zhou Yaxin said.

"Used to shopping on your phone"

As ambassador to China again, Zhou Yaxin found more opportunities for cooperation between the two countries. "Every time I come to China, I feel that the change is too big. It is not easy for a big country like China to achieve such rapid development, and China has set an example for developing countries. She said.

Soon after coming to China, Zhou Yaxin fully felt the great convenience brought by China's e-commerce and mobile payment. She laughed and said: "When I came to Beijing, I found that mobile payment is too convenient." I'm used to shopping on my phone, and I've forgotten where my wallet is. Knowing that the Beijing Winter Olympics will promote the pilot application of the digital yuan, Zhou Yaxin is eager to try, "There is always a chance to try advanced technology in China, and I am very willing to try the digital yuan!" ”

Zhou Yaxin hopes that Guyana will catch the "express train" of China's e-commerce development and let more Guyana specialties come to the table of Chinese families. "Many Chinese friends who have been to Guyana have told me that they miss the natural taste of Guyana the most." Zhou Yaxin introduced that most of Guyana's land is covered by rainforest, and natural green is the characteristic of Guyana's agricultural products and food: The Guyana rum brewed by sugarcane juice is very unique; Guyana gold sugar retains the original taste of sugarcane; the natural pollution-free growth environment creates the best quality of Guyana coffee. Zhou Yaxin said that at present, some Guyana specialties have entered the European and American markets, and the Chinese market has great potential, hoping to open up sales channels in the Chinese market.

Zhou Yaxin said that in 2022, Guizhou and China will usher in the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, which is an important opportunity to promote greater development of bilateral relations. "Caribbean countries are paying more and more attention to developing relations with China." Zhou Yaxin said that in the next 5 to 10 years, Guyana will emerge a large number of investment opportunities in infrastructure, agriculture and science and technology, welcome Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in Guyana, and hope that Guizhou-China economic and trade cooperation will bear more fruits. (Overseas network Mao Li Wu Huimin)

Original title: "I am very willing to try the digital yuan!" "(I am ambassador in China) - Zhou Yaxin, ambassador to Guyana to China

Source: Overseas Network