Source: China Radio and Television Corporation International Online
Editor: Zhao Yan
On March 16, Chinese aid vaccines arrived in Namibia
International Online News (Reporter Gao Junya): This year is the beginning of China's "14th Five-Year Plan" and a key year for economic development to return to the right track in the post-epidemic era, which has attracted the world's attention. In this context, China's diplomacy is also fully committed to serving the national development strategy.
Namibia is China's comprehensive strategic partner in Africa. Over the years, the two sides have steadily advanced and achieved fruitful results in cooperation in various fields. Recently, Zhang Yiming, Chinese Ambassador to Namibia, was interviewed by a reporter from the General Radio Station to conduct in-depth discussions on the prospects for cooperation between China and Namibia under the new development pattern, and how to tell the "China story" to the local people and promote people-to-people ties.
Ambassador Zhang Yiming said that the traditional friendship between China and Namibia is profound, and they are veritable good brothers, good comrades and good partners. It has been 31 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and the "thirty-year-old" Sino-Namibian relations have continued to mature. "During President Geingob's visit to China in 2018, he and President Xi Jinping jointly announced that bilateral relations will be upgraded to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership," he said. This positioning of high-level diplomatic relations belongs to the first echelon in China-Africa relations, and in the same year, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on jointly building the 'Belt and Road' cooperation, which has the characteristics of comprehensiveness, strategy and leadership, and has increasingly become a model of mutual respect, equal treatment and common development between China and African countries. ”
The Chinese Embassy in Namibia donated anti-epidemic materials to the Ministry of Health
The Chinese Embassy in Namibia donated anti-epidemic materials to primary and secondary schools in Namibia
After the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, China and Namibia have united and cooperated to fight the epidemic. After the outbreak of the epidemic in China last year, Namibian President Geingob was one of the first foreign heads of state to send a letter of condolences and support to President Xi Jinping, and the first head of state in sub-Saharan Africa to speak with President Xi Jinping on anti-epidemic cooperation, which fully reflects the high degree of political mutual trust between the two countries. After the outbreak of the epidemic in Namibia, China has also actively helped the Namibian government and people fight the epidemic. Ambassador Zhang said, "The Chinese government, Chinese-funded enterprises and overseas Chinese in Namibia have donated more than 50 batches of materials such as testing reagents, masks and protective clothing to help the Namibian government and people fight the epidemic." Medical experts from the two countries also held five video exchange meetings to share their anti-epidemic experience. In order to implement the 'China-Africa Hospital Cooperation Mechanism' announced by President Xi Jinping at the China-Africa Solidarity and Anti-Epidemic Special Summit, Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Walvis Bay (Walvis Bay) Hospital have formed 'sister hospitals'. China's 13th batch of medical teams have always stood by their posts during the epidemic, providing Traditional Chinese medicine services and epidemic prevention guidance to the Namibian people. In particular, it should be said that china's vaccine has achieved three goals in Namibia, such as being the first to arrive, taking the lead in starting vaccination, and taking the lead in achieving full coverage of Chinese citizens. In his State of the Union address, President Geingob specifically expressed his gratitude for this, saying that China is the true friend of Namibia. The 'Spring Seedling Action' was also successfully completed on May 12, and the more than 1,800 Chinese citizens who participated in the vaccination were sincerely grateful to the Party Central Committee for their concern and felt the preciousness of Sino-Namibia friendship. ”
Ambassador Zhang Yiming also said that China has accelerated the construction of a new development pattern with the domestic cycle as the main body and the domestic and international dual cycles promoting each other, which has provided a major opportunity for Namibian products to export to China and economic development. "China has a broad market and a complete industrial system, and Namibia has rich mineral resources such as uranium and copper ore and high-quality agricultural and fishery products," he said. The industrial development of the two countries is highly complementary. In 2020, the bilateral trade volume between China and Namibia increased by 10.1% against the trend. In the future, the two sides should focus on the economic recovery in the post-epidemic era and further deepen economic and trade cooperation, especially in the fields of tourism, agriculture and animal husbandry. ”
Ambassador Zhang said that Chinese enterprises should continue to actively go global, seize the opportunities arising in the process of Namibia's economic transformation and upgrading, increase investment, and promote the two countries to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields and achieve common prosperity.
Chinese Ambassador to Namibia Zhang Yiming talks about China's anti-epidemic experience on National Television
Chinese Ambassador to Namibia Zhang Yiming was interviewed by local media
"The friendship between the country lies in the affinity between the people", and people-to-people exchanges have always been the highlight of bilateral relations between China and Namibia. According to Ambassador Zhang Yiming, projects such as the "China Ambassador Scholarship" and "Love School Bag" initiated by the Chinese Embassy in Namibia have become household names in Namibia. Ambassador Zhang said that in the future, we will continue to tell the "China story" well and continue to promote the communication between the people of China and Namibia. He said, "The first is to dig into the content of the story and clarify what to tell. On the occasion of the centenary of the Communist Party of China, the embassy plans to hold a seminar with the ruling namibian party to form a party youth group, launch a photo exhibition on the theme of the centenary of the founding of the party, focus on Namibia's young 'Generation Z', and explain the truth of "why the Chinese Communist Party can" to young people. With the glorious history of China's 5,000-year civilization, the embassy will also strengthen the telling of chinese cultural stories. The second is to innovate the way of telling and clarify how to speak. Namibia is friendly to China, and the ruling party, as a socialist left-wing political party in Africa, and the Communist Party of China are also long-term 'sister parties' and are willing to learn from China's experience. Telling the story of China and the Chinese Communist Party in Namibia is uniquely qualified.
To tell Chinese stories abroad, on the one hand, it is necessary to take the initiative to speak out and publicize Chinese stories through writing speeches, media interviews, symposiums and seminars. On the other hand, it is necessary to tell the local audience according to the habits and characteristics of the local audience, combined with the stories that the locals are familiar with. In partnership with the local mainstream media "New Times", we have opened a weekly special edition of China to promote Chinese stories. Based on the preferences of the Namibian people and the media habits of listening to the radio, we have also co-founded the "Magical China" cultural program with the National Radio Station, which tells the story of Chinese culture and development achievements in a way that the Namibian people like to hear. ”
Ambassador Zhang Yiming stressed that the Chinese Embassy in Namibia will keep its mission in mind, open up more publicity platforms, use more communication methods, tap more friendly voices, continuously improve the ability to tell stories, tell Chinese stories more and more wonderfully, and make China's voice more and more loud.