Mao Weiming, deputy secretary of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee and Hunan governor, attends and addresses the online ceremony for the handover of dumpcarts to the Dominican Republic on May 19. (Photo/Liu Shangwen)
The Hunan-donated dumpcarts had arrived in the Dominican Republic recently. On the evening of May 19, a handover ceremony was held online. Leaders and distinguished guests attending and addressing the ceremony via video link included Mao Weiming, deputy secretary of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee and Hunan governor; Zhang Run, Chinese ambassador to the Dominican Republic; Briunny Garabito Segura, ambassador of the Dominican Republic to China; and, Carolina Mejía, mayor of Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic's capital city.
The handover ceremony. (Photo/Liu Shangwen)
Governor Mao congratulated on the handover ceremony and briefed the attendants on Hunan’s culture, history, and economic and social development. Hunan has maintained steady growth and stable and improved development, he said. At this new historical starting point, Hunan has grasped the important opportunities brought about by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s inspection tour in Hunan and the rise of central China strategy, to build Hunan into a hub of advanced manufacturing industry of national importance, a sci-tech innovation hub with core competitiveness, and an inland hub of reform and opening up.
The Dominican Republic has the largest economy of both Central America and the Caribbean. Hunan has enhanced association with the country in the past four years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Dominican Republic. There are broad space and huge potential for bilateral cooperation. Mao hoped that, starting from the handover ceremony, the two sides will further strengthen exchange and cooperation in agriculture, economy and trade, culture, tourism, eco-environmental protection, and infrastructure construction. There will be a brighter prospect for bilateral cooperation and friendship.
Ambassador Zhang noted that, Hunan is an important province in central China, and a pioneer in advancing China-Dominican Republic relations and local cooperation. The handover of the dumpcarts marked a new outcome of Hunan-Dominican Republic cooperation, and a proof of friendship between the two countries. Potential and opportunities in pragmatic collaborations between China and the Dominican Republic have been seen. He expected Hunan and Santo Domingo will forge ahead, making greater contributions to the China-Dominican Republic relations in the new stage, and benefiting the peoples of the two sides.
The handover ceremony is held via video link. (Photo/Liu Shangwen)
On behalf of the Santo Domingo people, Mayor Mejía extended gratitude to Hunan for its long-term assistance. She said that, the Hunan-donated dumpcarts will be used to clean the capital city. Santo Domingo, with its favorable geological and development environment, would be a good choice for Hunan enterprises to make overseas investment. She welcomed Hunan people to start business in Santo Domingo and promote bilateral cooperation in various fields.
Ambassador Garabito marked that, since the establishment of friendly relations, Santo Domingo and Hunan Province have carried out effective collaboration on a mutual benefit basis. The Embassy of the Dominican Republic in China will play a positive role in developing platforms for cooperation. He hoped the two sides will leverage advantages to broaden and deepen bilateral cooperation.
In recent years, Hunan has thoroughly studied and implemented Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, and spared no effort to serve the overall diplomacy of China. Hunan has advanced cooperation with the Dominican Republic constantly. In the crucial period of COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control in 2020, Hunan had done what it can to provide assistance in anti-COVID supplies and sharing experience. In 2021, Hunan donated sugarcane harvesters to help the Dominican Republic accelerate its automation of sugarcane harvesting. Hunan Province established friendly province-city relations with Santo Domingo the same year. The two places became the first provincial-level friendly regions since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between China and the Dominican Republic in 2018.
Hunan’s Yuanjiang City signed a letter of intent for friendly cooperation with Salcedo City, the Dominican Republic.
This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.
Translator: Pang Yuehui
Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn
