Build the Consul Highland in the Central West China 23 Consulates in Chongqing and Chengdu Help Chongqing Open Wider to the Outside World

□ Article/ Journalist Hu Rui Tr. by Zhang Jie

Build the Consul Highland in the Central West China 23 Consulates in Chongqing and Chengdu Help Chongqing Open Wider to the Outside World

□ Article/ Journalist Hu Rui Tr. by Zhang Jie

March 2012 witnessed the inauguration of the eighth foreign consulate in Chongqing—Consulate-General of Ethiopia.

In September 2013, Guido Tielman, Consul-General of Holland, assumed office in Consulate General of Holland in Chongqing, which started to run of fi cially.

On December 30, 2013, the first Consul-General of Italian consulate in Chongqing, Sergio Maffettone,arrived in Chongqing with his team. The Consulate General of Italy was officially opened and the visa center was set up in Chongqing.

In November 2014, the Danish consulate in Chongqing was upgraded to the Consulate-General so as to promote the exchanges and cooperation between Denmark and Chongqing.

In recent years, thanks to the widening of openingup to the outside world and rapid development,Chongqing has attracted 10 governments to establish Consulate-General successively, which were the United Kingdom, Kampuchea, Japan, Philippines,Hungary, Ethiopia, Canada, Denmark, Holland and Italy. Sergio Maffettone, former Consul-General of the Italian Consulate-General in Chongqing, said:“The Consulate-General in Chongqing is the third one established in Mainland China except for Shanghai and Guangzhou. The reason why we choose Chongqing is that the Southwest region, as an indispensable part of China, is developing faster and faster. To open a Consulate-General here could strengthen ties and exchanges between enterprises of China and Italy,carve out opportunities for cooperation and provide various support for Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in Italy.

Besides consulates in Chongqing, thirteen Consulate Generals in Chengdu are also active in foreignrelated affairs of Chongqing. They have been in good partnership with all sectors and engaged in various activities.

Accelerating Opening-up with Consular Resources

Various units in Chongqing have created good working and living environment for foreign consulates and carried out pragmatic and effective cooperation with them after they settled in Chongqing.

Consul Generals in Chengdu were present at many events held in Chongqing, such as Chongqing People’s Congress, Chongqing Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Investment and Trade Fair, the Western China Tourism Expo, the Cultural Industry Expo, and the Annual Meeting of Mayor’s Economic Advisory Group.

In recent years, Chongqing Foreign Affairs amp; Overseas Chinese Affairs Of fi ce actively invites the consulates to participate in every important international conference held in Chongqing. Chongqing also provides exhibition halls to the consulates for free at China (Chongqing)International Investment and Global Sourcing Fair(hereinafter to be referred as “Chongqing Fair”). In September, 2014, 12 consular of fi cers from 12 foreign consulates (the United Kingdom, Kampuchea, Japan,Philippines, Hungary, Ethiopia, Canada, Denmark,Italy, Holland, France, Australia, etc.) in Chongqing and Chengdu attended the 9th Annual Meeting of the International Economic Adviser Board for Mayor of Chongqing Municipality,the 6th International Service Trade (Chongqing) Summit and related activities of summit forum. Organizing consular officers in Chongqing and Chengdu to attend the major international conferences in our city has become an important way to make use of consular resources to promote opening-up and development. In addition,Chongqing Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office holds regular symposiums on Consular affairs in Chongqing and Chengdu so as to exchange and solve the problems timely, explore management and service methods constantly, strengthen cooperation with foreign consulates and achieve mutual bene fi t.

In December 2014, Chongqing organized “Chongqing in the eyes of foreigners” activities for the consular officials and foreign representatives in Chongqing and Chengdu. Chongqing invited consular of fi cials to visit each district and county of Chongqing in batches in order to make them get to know more about the construction situation of Chongqing and provide more and better suggestions for Chongqing. The activities received positive responses, 9 consular of fi cials from 6 consulates (of the United Kingdom, Holland, Italy,Japan, Australia and Singapore) in Chongqing and Chengdu participated in it

In April 2016, a large delegation of more than 30 officers from Hungarian Consulate-General in Chongqing paid a visit to Chongqing. During that course, Hot Spring Promotion Ambassador of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs visited Chongqing, met with officials of Municipal Tourism Administration and Municipal Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, researched Hot Spring projects in Chongqing and discussed cooperation on Hot Spring projects with of fi cials of Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources.

Since its opening, Singapore Consulate General in Chengdu has been active in promoting the exchanges and cooperation between Chongqing and Singapore in many fields. In November 2015, Chongqing won over the third inter-governmental cooperation project of China and Singapore. Since then, the Consulate General has taken a more active part in Singaporerelated activities in Chongqing. And it held the National Day reception in Chongqing for two consecutive years.A cooperation group was set up, which consists of fi ve Thailand branches, including the Consulate General in Chengdu and Chengdu Office of Department of International Trade Promotion, Ministry of Commerce,and seven Chongqing departments, including Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Chongqing Municipal People’s Government, Municipal Commission of Development and Reform, Municipal Commission of Education. The group will hold regular joint meeting to promote all-round exchanges and cooperation between Chongqing and Thailand in sectors like economy, trade, investment, education,culture and tourism.

On June 22, 2017, the 20th Chongqing Fair was inaugurated in Yuelai International Convention Center.Among 48 countries and regions that took part in the conference, 9 were countries that set up consulates in Chongqing and Chengdu, such as the United States,Hungary and so on. The meeting set up two “guest of honor” halls for the United States and Hungary for the first time, and the delegations from 13 state governments of the United States came to Chongqing to attend the meeting and negotiate. During the period,24 cooperation intentions were reached in the fields of medical treatment, energy, department store chain,robot, auto parts and so on. Relying on the consular resources, Chongqing has accelerated the international pace of “bringing in and going out”.

Cultural Exchanges Promoting People-to-People Bond

On April 8, 2014, “Creating Reality: the Alphabet of Human Emotions: Image History Exhibition in Memory of the 200th Birthday Anniversary of Italian Famous Musician and Opera Composer—Giuseppe ? Verdi”was launched at Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. Alberto? Meloni, the curator, hoped to help the art circles in Chongqing enhance the understanding of Italian culture, truly feel human emotions expressed by Verdi’s music through this exhibition.

Each year, the British Consulate-General in Chongqing offers “Chevening” scholarships to students applying to study in UK to help them better study and live abroad.Besides, cultural events—the “Welsh week” held on schedule every year is also very exciting. The events including Welsh cultural salon, Sino British preschool education innovation and development forum, “Welsh Cup” English essay contest, entering Welsh class and other wonderful activities, are a feast for Chongqing and Welsh to deepen communication in business,culture, education, art and other fields and explore further opportunities for cooperation.

In April, 2016, the Hungarian Consulate-General in Chongqing, together with Beijing Hungarian cultural center, held the fi rst series of theme activities—“Spring of Budapest Culture”.which brought an unforgettable“Hungarian culture tour” and wonderful exotic culture to people of Chongqing.

Cultural exchanges lies in people-to-people bond.In 2015, Chongqing Art Museum, Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum and other galleries respectively held the “Oscar in the painting world”John ? Moore Prize exhibition, “The Circuit Leading to the Future”—Exhibition of contemporary Japanese artists,“Chongqing Families”—exhibition of Dutch photography master Robert Van Der Hilst and other exhibitions bring in art works from all over the world to Chongqing.

Italian State television has been sending delegations of journalists to Chongqing since 2014 to interview the development and construction of China Railway Express. Under the assistance of Chongqing Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office and Chongqing Municipal Information Office, delegations of journalists filmed and interviewed China Railway Express, Liangjiang new area, cloud computing center, Lianglu Cuntan Bonded Port Area, etc. And they made special films to broadcast on the first channel of Italian television. In order to enhance the recognition of Chongqing in Italy, Italian Consulate-General in Chongqing organized journalists of Italian State television to visit Chongqing again in April, 2016.Films of Guanyin Bridge business circle, Dazu Rock Carvings and other places were made and special publicity videos were played on Italian State television.Nancy Gordon, the first Consul General of the Australian Consulate General in Chengdu, visited Chongqing for over 60 times during her 3-year term contributing to the arrival of Australian Governor General Sir Peter Cosgrove in Chongqing. She also started the photo exhibition Chongqing Embassy—Australian Diplomatic Missions During the Anti-Japanese War which was shown in many places of Chongqing and Australia. The Consulate General sponsored a series of cultural activities under the theme of Savour Australia, including aboriginal art, Opera, movie, photography contest, English speech contest, design exhibition, tourism promotion and others, which bringing together the people of Chongqing and Australia.

In September 2013, consul general of Thailand in Chengdu, Chongqing Foreign Affairs amp; Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, People’s Government of Yuzhong District jointly held “2013 Chongqing ?Thailand Festival” to promote food, tourism and other resources. In November 2016, the Danish Consulate-General in Chongqing hosted the third Danish Food and Fashion Appreciation Ceremony. In November of the same year, Consulate-General of Holland in Chongqing held “2016 Holland Day”, Consulate-General of Australia in Chengdu held “Obsessed with Australia”. A series of special activities made people experience the authentic style and characteristics of Holland and Australia.

In addition, Consulate Generals of the United States,Germany, France, New Zealand, Israel, Czech,Poland and other countries in Chengdu all held photo exhibition, cultural week, food festival, film exhibition and other activities in Chongqing.

Over the past fi ve years, each consulate in Chongqing has witnessed the great changes and gratifying results of this “mountain city” in the process of opening-up and development, and plays an important role in the construction of Chongqing.