The Pacific island nation of Kiribati attracts many tourists every year, and recently, Kiribati's visa-free entry policy to China has officially come into effect.
Chinese Ambassador to Kiribati Zhou Limin said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from China Central Global News Broadcasting that the policy further facilitates bilateral personnel exchanges and is a manifestation of the growing friendship between the two peoples.
In addition, Ambassador Zhou also said that the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative are deeply aligned with the Kiribati 20-Year Development Plan, which has brought great benefits to the people of China and Kiribati.
Chinese Ambassador to Kiribati Zhou Limin
|| Visa-free entry to China facilitates personnel exchanges
Zhou Limin: Kiribati's implementation of a visa-free entry policy to China has further facilitated bilateral people-to-people exchanges, which is a concrete manifestation of the deepening political mutual trust between China and Kiribati and the deepening friendship between the two peoples.
At present, Chinese citizens holding diplomatic, official, official ordinary and ordinary passports can enjoy the visa-free policy for tourism and short-term visits to Kyrgyzstan. However, Chinese citizens who go to base for work, investment, Xi and research activities still need to apply for the corresponding type of visa to the immigration bureau in advance. Recently, the Chinese Embassy has issued a consular reminder on the entry requirements for Chinese citizens, and you are welcome to read it.
The people of Kiribati are simple, hospitable, beautiful and generally in a good state of security. Similar to Chinese tradition, the elderly have a high status in Kiribati society, and the people have a lot of respect for them. The main food of Kiribati people is rice and fish, with some tropical fruits such as coconut, bananas, and breadfruit. Men and women in Kiribati are never called by name, they are always called by name.
Due to its remote location and little influence from the outside world, Kiribati still retains its distinctive traditional Xi. Of course, there are some cultural taboos in Kei. Attend the local council hall (Maneaba) When holding public events, you should wait for the host to greet you before entering, and you must remove your shoes, if you are invited to dance with the performers, you should accept it, and if you refuse, it will be considered disrespectful to the local etiquette, if you walk around for photographing or other reasons, you should bend over appropriately to show respect, touch the child's head is considered disrespectful and offensive to the child's family, and do not touch the child's head, and in the local council hall, the traditional sitting position is cross-legged, not leaning against the pillar, and not pointing the toes or soles of the feet at the opposite person, otherwise it will be considered impolite. Detailed information on Kiribati's customs and Xi culture can be found on the China Consular Service Network.
On September 29, Ambassador Zhou Limin attended the 74th anniversary of the National Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival celebration of the Kiribati Overseas Chinese Association.
|| Abundant tourism resources attract tourists
Zhou Limin: Kiribati is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the country is composed of three archipelagos with a total of 33 coral reef islands, and although the land area is only 811 square kilometers, it has a maritime exclusive economic zone of up to 3.5 million square kilometers. From above, these islands and reefs look like emeralds dotted across the vast Pacific Ocean. Every photo taken in Kiribati can become a stunning "circle of friends" without retouching.
■ The people of Kiribati are simple, kind, and hospitable, and there are many beautiful legends. Kiribati's islands are both traditional and distinctive, reflecting the cultural diversity of this beautiful country. A visit to Kiribati is a travel experience that is far away from the hustle and bustle of the world, cleanses the soul, returns to the roots, and feels innocent.
■ Among the many tourist attractions, it is recommended to visit Christmas Island, which is located in the Lien Islands in the east of Kiribati. Christmas Island is the world's largest single coral reef, with a land area of 388 square kilometers and a lagoon area of 320 square kilometers. In the 90s of the last century, the government of Kiribati applied to the United Nations to move the international date line 2,000 kilometers to the east, so that all its islands are on the same day, so that Christmas Island is in the 14th time zone east, and it has become the first inhabited island in the world to usher in a new day, and Kiribati has also become the first country to enter every day.
■ On Christmas Island, the blue sky, blue sea, sand and shadow coconut groves can be seen everywhere, diving, fishing, bird watching and other amusement projects are readily available, and the characteristic folk songs and dances of the Pacific island countries are a feast for the eyes, so it attracts many European and American tourists to visit every year, and it is definitely the first choice destination for domestic friends to visit Kiribati.
Ambassador Zhou Limin and his wife visited the National Museum of Kiribati
|| The Belt and Road Initiative The Global Development Initiative (GDI) is deeply aligned with the Kiribati 20-Year Development Plan
Zhou Limin: Kiribati is a partner country of the Belt and Road Initiative. Over the past four years, China and Kyribati have worked together to promote the in-depth synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and the Kiribati 20-Year Development Plan, and carried out cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, people's livelihood, sustainable development and people-to-people exchanges, which have strongly promoted the development of bilateral relations and brought great benefits to the two peoples.
The exclusive area of the base ocean covers an area of 3.55 million square kilometers and has abundant fishery resources, producing tuna, sea bream, grouper, lobster, etc. Fishing is the backbone of Kiribati's industry, and the government collects 60%-70% of its annual revenue from fishing vessels every year. At present, our company has established Kiribati Fisheries Co., Ltd. (KFL), Christmas Island Fisheries Company (KIFL) and Kiribati Tuna Fisheries Company (KTFL) in joint ventures with the Kiribati government and Fiji Jinyang Fishery Company to carry out seafood processing, production base development and tuna purse seine fishing. China Water Group, Shanghai Aquatic Products Company, Zhejiang Ocean Family and other companies are engaged in tuna fishing operations in the base sea area.
Coconut is an important industry and the main source of income for the people of the islands. Nearly 80% of the country's land area is covered by coconut groves, and more than 60% of the people on the outer islands are engaged in coconut-related work, but their coconut production and processing capacity is seriously insufficient. We have successively held video training on the comprehensive utilization of coconut, video conferences on the development of the coconut industry in the outer islands, and overseas training courses on coconut production and processing to enhance the diversification of coconut products and the development of the coconut industry in the outer islands.
Agriculture is an important industry for Kiribati to achieve sustainable development, but it is facing a shortage of fresh water, soil, fertilizer, feed, technology and human resources. The mainland has carried out technical assistance projects for agriculture and fishery in the country, dispatched experts to carry out vegetable planting, pig, poultry and aquatic product breeding, improved the infrastructure of state-owned farms in the country, and trained trainees, laying a good foundation for cooperation between China and the country in the agricultural field.
Kiribati's infrastructure is relatively backward, the capital's power supply is seriously insufficient, the road connection between the north and south of the capital is not smooth, and the transportation of materials between the capital and the outer islands is also extremely inconvenient. We have provided diesel generators to Kikistan to solve the problem of power shortage in the capital, assisted tugboats and landing craft to solve the problem of passenger and freight transportation between the capital and the outer islands, Lane and the Phoenix Islands, completed the construction of the Buta Bridge and the temporary bridge, carried out the transportation network upgrade project in South Tarawa, and China Railway No. 1 Bureau also won the bid for the Taritari Road Upgrade Project.
Economic and trade cooperation is an important force to promote the continuous development of China-Kyrgyzstan relations, and the Kyrgyzstan side values the advantages of the mainland's large market and cheap and high-quality products, and looks forward to further economic and trade cooperation with China to improve people's income and living standards. I believe that there is great potential and promising prospects for cooperation between the two sides in trade in goods, agriculture and fishery, infrastructure construction, and photovoltaic industry under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Ambassador Zhou Limin visited the Technical Expert Group on Aid to Agriculture and Fishery
The Chinese Embassy in Kiribati held a video conference on the development of the coconut industry in Kiribati
|| Medical cooperation has made great achievements
Zhou Limin: It has only been four years since China and Kiribati resumed diplomatic relations, but the medical cooperation between the two countries has made great achievements. From providing cash aid, COVID-19 vaccines and personal protective equipment to help Kyrgyzstan fight the epidemic, to helping build clinics and donating medical equipment and medicines to improve the capacity of basic medical services. Among them, the most eye-catching is the medical team sent by China to aid Kyrgyzstan.
In May last year, after the resumption of diplomatic relations between China and Kyrgyzstan, the first batch of medical teams to aid Kyrgyzstan braved the challenges of the epidemic and arrived in Kyrgyzstan, opening a new chapter in China-Kyrgyzstan medical cooperation. This year, on the basis of the first batch, the second batch of medical teams to aid the island overcame the difficult local conditions and benefited the people on the outer islands by "sending doctors and medicines to the island", so that the patients could enjoy convenient and effective medical services, and practiced the spirit of the Chinese medical team of "not afraid of hardship, willing to dedicate, save lives and help the wounded, and love without borders".
In addition, the first stop on this year's trip to the South Pacific island countries of the Chinese Navy's "Peace Ark" hospital ship was Kiribati, and it was also the first visit to Kiribati. The Peace Ark provided more than 6,600 medical services to Kiribati in a week, and successfully delivered Kiribati's first "Peace Baby" on board. In September, the Guangdong "Brightness Walk" free clinic team visited the Central Hospital of Jiji and helped dozens of local cataract patients regain their sight.
Ambassador Zhou Limin attended the commendation ceremony of the Chinese medical team from the Ministry of Health of Kiribati
The "Ark of Peace" crosses the Pacific Ocean and the friendship between China and Kyrgyzstan has renewed a new chapter
|| 跨越山海 民心相印 情谊相连
Zhou Limin: Over the past four years since the resumption of diplomatic relations between China and Kyrgyzstan, the relations between the two countries have developed rapidly, and they are good friends, good partners and good brothers who respect and support each other, and have become a model of equal treatment of countries large and small.
➤ As the people of Kiribati continue to deepen their understanding of China, their desire to learn XiChinese has become stronger. According to the agreement between the two governments, this year we will pilot Chinese education courses in the best high schools in Kiribati. Surprisingly, the local students were so interested that in less than a year, some students were able to give simple presentations in Chinese, which surprised us. In view of this, our Chinese education team has successively opened interest classes in local primary schools, universities and even libraries, which have been warmly welcomed by the local people.
➤ Education is a national priority. In order to create the necessary Xi conditions for local students, we have provided Kiribati with desks and chairs, and provided trucks to schools in the outer islands to pick up and drop off students Chinese. We will carry out practical cooperation in the fields of vocational and technical education, fully support students of the two countries to learn from each other and become envoys of China-Kyrgyzstan friendship, strive to provide a stage for pursuing their dreams, hold Sino-Kyrgyzstan art exchange concerts for young singers of the two countries, and provide opportunities for exchange and training for athletes of the two countries; actively promote exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, promote the holding of cultural relics exchange and museum exhibitions, and organize international students to perform distinctive folk dance performances. Facts have proven that the friendship between China and Kyrgyzstan conforms to the trend of the times and the common interests of the two peoples.
Ambassador Zhou Limin paid a courtesy call on Kiribati's Minister of Education, Mr. Thibaud
Ambassador Zhou Limin and his wife visited the Chinese education team
Picture | Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Kiribati
Contact | Lin Qinghui
Edited | Zhu Hong
Signature | Wang Xin
Executive Producer | Cai Yaoyuan