Diplomatic Pouch: With Mike Peters
Recently appointed Italian Ambassador Alberto Bradanini led a delegation of Italian officials on a visit to the EU SME Centre during a busy week just before the Spring Festival holiday break. Since 2010, the Centre has provided hands-on support for small and medium-sized enterprises from the EU, helping them to promote products and services to the Chinese market.
Marking the 49th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between France and China, East China Normal University in Shanghai launched a French edition of its website.
Founded in 1950, ECNU was the first teaching university of the People's Republic of China and remains a key national university. "With a renowned French department," the French embassy in Beijing says on its website, ECNU has established several ongoing projects with institutions of higher learning in French, including a training program for Shanghai master's and doctoral students' in social sciences and humanities. A total of 286 aspiring researchers were trained and 96 doctoral students were able to continue their studies in France.
The Royal Danish Consulate General in Guangzhou is temporarily closed due to technical issues, the Danish embassy in Beijing announced. Visa applicants will take longer to process since they will be forwarded to Beijing. The embassy said processing time can be reduced if applicants choose delivery by EMS (directly from Beijing).
Two Chinese visitors to the Netherlands recently told Dutch Ambassador to China Aart Jacobi that they are "very impressed" with the atmosphere of cooperation, efficiency and professionalism that they experienced during a visit to Dutch sports facilities and teams.
Alex Wang is head of the national coaching program of the Chinese Football Association, and Luyi Chen is on staff at the General Administration of Sports in the Chinese Ministry of Sport. The Dutch Visitors Program was organized for a fourth year and included guests from several countries.
Wang and Chen visited the Royal Dutch Football Association and several famous Dutch football clubs, including Ajax Amsterdam, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord Rotterdam. Wang told the ambassador he was impressed by the systematic way in which young people were trained. Chen said that she admired the Dutch system in which athletes can combine sports and education during their youth.
The Beijing Symposium on Global Governance for Health was held at the Norwegian embassy late last month in the capital. The symposium was organized by a Peking University delegation in co-operation with the Lancet-University of Oslo Youth Commission on Global Governance for Health. Seven students from Peking University presented their research at the symposium, covering topics that included: foreign policy and global governance for health, the WHO and its cooperation with lower level government in heath policy making, how cultural factors and social norms create misunderstandings in health related issues, mercury pollution in China, aging health and preferences for care of the elderly, and China's health reform. The Lancet-University of Oslo Commission on Global Governance for Health is an independent academic research initiative managed in collaboration with the Harvard Global Health Institute.
Send embassy news to michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn.
(China Daily 02/22/2013 page31)
