An themed event featuring the captivating allure of pandas was held Friday in the Schonbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria, attracting throng of fans of the black and white bear that is also dubbed China's national treasure.
Under the theme of "Adorable Pandas, Beautiful China," the event was co-organized by the zoo and Chinese Embassy in Austria. Chinese Ambassador to Austria Qi Mei and the zoo's Director Stephan Hering-Hagenbeck attended and address the event.
Qi highlighted the fruitful results achieved in the longstanding cooperation between China and Austria in the field of giant panda exchange, noting that the giant pandas serve as "ambassadors of the people" and help open a window for the Austrian public to understand China.
The zoo director congratulated on the successful organization of the event and extended a warm welcome to more visitors to the zoo to see the giant pandas, describing the exchange as a witness to the friendship between China and Austria.
"Pandas are most loved animals here in the zoo by the visitors. I think it works fantastically, and it's amazing how much these animals are also inspiring the people for friendship and for connection between the countries, which is very, very important," he said.
The event also featured outstanding artistic works centered around pandas and included a fun quiz focused on China-Austria relations, panda cooperation, and Chinese culture. Local residents enthusiastically participated, taking photos and engaging in the activities.
"I think they're very cute. We are here many times. I want to see more pandas," said a resident attending the event.
Panda-themed event at Vienna zoo attracts throngs of panda-philes
Multiple significant political documents will be signed at the upcoming Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) which has played an active role as a comprehensive cooperative organization, said Kazakh Ambassador to China.
From July 2 to 6, Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of SCO in Kazakhstan's capital city Astana, and pay state visits to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan at the invitation of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of the Republic of Kazakhstan and President Emomali Rahmon of the Republic of Tajikistan.
Shakhrat Nuryshev, ambassador of Kazakhstan to China, said in a recent interview with China Media Group (CMG) in Beijing, capital of China, that many important documents will be signed during the event, stressing that SCO is never a military group.
"The total number of events to be held during Kazakhstan's SCO presidency has now exceeded 140. Before the summit, we plan to hold a number of ministerial and expert meetings. Of course, the most important event before the summit is the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers. At this meeting, we can get an overview of the main content and topics of the upcoming SCO summit, as well as which documents will be signed. We have proposed that the heads of state consider and approve more than 20 resolutions and documents within the framework of SCO at the summit. It is expected that the main political document, the Astana Declaration, will be signed at the summit. All suggestions of member states on the SCO agenda will be reflected in the final document," he said.
"I would like to emphasize that the SCO is not a military bloc, nor a military alliance against any country. The SCO has never positioned itself as a military organization. Although some people try to involve the SCO in such disputes, the SCO has always maintained a balanced position. The SCO is a comprehensive cooperation organization, and the security field is one of the priority areas of cooperation. New challenges and threats are very real problems in today's world," said Nuryshev.
"At the upcoming Astana Summit, we plan to adopt the Cooperation Programme for Fighting Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism for 2025-2027, as well as the SCO Strategy for Fighting Drugs for 2024-2029. This shows that these issues are now on the agenda of our entire organization and we are hopeful of ensuring that the SCO space, which currently covers 26 countries, is a space of peace, creativity and development," Nuryshev said.
Nuryshev also hailed the high-level development of Kazakhstan-China relations.
"The present level of China-Kazakhstan permanent comprehensive strategic partnership is unprecedented, the highest level of bilateral relations, which shows that our two countries have established a relationship of mutual trust and high mutual respect. The Chinese President will attend the SCO summit and visit Kazakhstan soon. This will be his fifth visit to Kazakhstan, which shows the closeness of our bilateral relations. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visited China three times from May last year to March this year, attending the China-Central Asia Summit, the Belt and Road Forum. This year he also attended the Boao Forum for Asia. All these show that there is a very close and friendly relationship between the two heads of state, which has injected impetus and strong momentum into the development of bilateral relations," he said.
SCO to play active role as comprehensive cooperative organization: Kazakh ambassador
