On January 26, the press conference of the 2024 "Happy New Year" event in Serbia was held at the Chinese Cultural Center in Belgrade. Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Li Ming and Assistant Secretary-General of the Government of Serbia Nikolic attended and delivered speeches. Lalic, director of the Belt and Road Research Institute in Belgrade, presided over the press conference. Tang Dasheng, Counsellor in charge of Cultural Affairs of the Chinese Embassy in Serbia, Wang Yanliang, Director of the Chinese Cultural Center in Belgrade, and journalists from CCTV, Xinhua News Agency, Guangming Daily, Serbian National Television, Nantong News Agency, Political Daily, News Evening News and other mainstream media in China and Serbia attended the event.
The scene of the press conference
Li Ming extended greetings and best wishes for the Year of the Dragon to the Cypriot media and friends from all walks of life, reviewed the rich achievements of China-Cyprus relations in 2023, and said that under the joint leadership of the two heads of state, exchanges and cooperation between China and Cyprus in various fields have flourished and burst with vigor and vitality. The Chinese New Year has become a statutory holiday for the United Nations and many countries and regions, and the "Happy New Year" activities cover more than 100 countries and regions, which is an important window for Chinese culture to go to the world and for people around the world to understand China. This is the sixth consecutive year that China and Cyprus have jointly held the "Happy New Year" event, which includes three themes: "China-Cyprus Iron-clad Friendship", "China-Cyprus Civilization Exchange and Mutual Learning" and "Inheriting and Promoting the Silk Road Spirit", which fully reflects the sincere and profound friendship between the two peoples and the high level of China-Cyprus relations.
Li Ming delivered a speech
In the face of the current complex and turbulent international situation, Li Ming hopes to further deepen the mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese and Cypriot people and the international community, promote unity and cooperation, convey full of positive energy, promote the implementation of the Global Civilization Initiative and the Belt and Road Initiative, and jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind.
Nikolic spoke highly of the success of the "Happy New Year" in Serbia in previous years, saying that the traditional friendship between Serbia and China is deep, the people of the two countries are attracted by each other's long history and splendid culture, and the celebration of the Chinese New Year has become an important platform and carrier for people-to-people exchanges between Serbia and China. The Cypriot government and people look forward to further expanding cooperation with China in the fields of economy, trade, culture and tourism under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative through the "Happy New Year" event, so as to bring the two peoples closer together.
Nikolic made a speech
At the press conference, Lalic introduced the overall arrangement of the 2024 "Happy New Year" event, as well as the commemorative stamp issuance ceremony with the theme of "Chinese Zodiac - Year of the Dragon" and the "Lucky Dragon" lucky draw. Tang Dasheng introduced the 2024 China-Cyprus cultural exchange related activity plan.
Lalic introduced the 2024 "Happy New Year" event arrangement
Tang Dasheng introduced the plan for China-Cyprus cultural exchange activities in 2024
At the event, Li Ming and Nikolic jointly unveiled the 2024 "Happy New Year" mascot "Lucky Dragon", and watched the promotional video of "Lijian No. 1" successfully lifted off on January 23 with media reporters with the "Happy New Year" logo and "Auspicious Dragon" image.
The guests paid New Year greetings to the Serbian people through the lens of the news media
Li Ming and Nikolic jointly unveiled the 2024 "Happy New Year" mascot "Lucky Dragon".
As an important part of the global brand of "Happy New Year", the 2024 Serbian "Happy New Year" event will be held from January 29 to February 19 in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš and Smederevo, including the 2024 Chinese New Year's Eve Carnival, China-Serbia New Year Concert, Zhejiang Wu Opera Tour, Quanzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition and other cultural activities. At the same time, the traditional Chinese culture is fully integrated with Serbian cultural elements, so that the local people of Serbia can experience the rich and colorful Chinese culture and the charm of the Serbian Chinese New Year up close.
Source: Cultural and Educational Office of the Chinese Embassy in Serbia