Diplomatic Pouch | Mike Peters

African students from the Pakistan Embassy School get ready to perform. See video at video.chinadaily.com.cn. Njoku Saintjerry / Lensafrik

Dozens of African ambassadors, their wives and guests celebrated the 50th anniversary of what is now the African Union with a gala dinner at Beijing's Kempinski hotel. Seyoum Mesfin, Ethiopia's ambassador to China, opened the program as master of ceremonies, reflecting his country's role as the current chair of the AU. Special guests were Demeke Mekonnen, deputy prime minister and minister of education of Ethiopia, and Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. DJs and live performers pumped up the rhythm all evening, and guests were invited to the floor and the stage for a marathon of African dance music.

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After weekend meetings with Chinese leaders, Uruguayan President Jose Mujica wrapped up his China visit this week with a business forum, a conference with students at Beijing Foreign Studies University and the launch of Uruguay Day at the InterContinental Hotel. The two countries celebrate 25 years of diplomatic relations this year, noted Ambassador Rosario Portell. Uruguay exports beef, wool and soybeans to China, while trade in the other direction includes advanced technology, infrastructure and investment capacity.

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Azerbaijan's Ambassador to China Yashar Tofig Aliev (pictured) hosted a diplomatic reception for his nation's Republic Day on Monday at the Kempinski Hotel in Beijing. VIP guests included Chen Lianfu, senior prosecutor in the Supreme People's Procuratorate of China.

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Slovak Ambassador to China Frantisek Dlhopolcek brought together diplomats and entrepreneurs from 12 nations for a foreign-cooperation summit at Sino-Czech-Slovak Friendship Farm in Cangzhou, Hebei province, last weekend. Guests from the Czech Republic, Albania, Armenia, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Iraq, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania and Slovenia discussed possibilities and perspectives of investment and trade cooperation with partners in this fast-developing Chinese region.

The farm was born in 1956, when the former Czechoslovakia offered 670 agricultural machines to China as international aid. The growth of the nearby Bohai New Area in recent years is proof of the development potential, Dlhopolcek said.

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The India Study Center of the Peking University and the embassy of India hosted a book launch for the Chinese edition of Gandhi's Outstanding Leadership by longtime diplomat Pascal Alan Nazareth at the university last week. Jiang Jingkui, PU professor, and S. Jaishankar, India's ambassador to China, welcomed a panel of scholars and media to discuss the legacy of the iconic promoter of non-violent revolution. Nazareth also presented his book, originally published in English in 2006, in Shanghai and Guangzhou.

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Chilean Ambassador Luis Schmidt Montes and his counterpart, China's Ambassador to Chile Yang Wanming, teamed up to kick off an investment forum last week at the Renaissance Hotel, Beijing. The daylong event was organized by the China Council for International Investment Promotion and Export-Import Bank of China.

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Diplomats got a little floury as they mixed and kneaded dough wrappers at a cooking competition recently at the 2013 Zhongguancun International Food Festival, organized by Beijing Haidian Catering Service Trade Association and the organizing committee of the China International Friendship and Culture Festival. Diplomats and family members from Russia, Uzbekistan, Zambia, Ukraine and Korea had 45 minutes to make dumplings and a Chinese hot dish. Sabina Makarova from Russia won the competition.

Ye Jun contributed to this report.

Send embassy news to michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn.

Guest hostess and TV chef Han Ping (center) helps a participant from Zambia make dumplings. Zhu Xingxin / China Daily

(China Daily 06/02/2013 page5)