Prime Minister of Niger Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine arrived in Beijing on Monday afternoon to attend the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
Zeine's plane landed in the Chinese capital at around 17:30.
Niger has consistently and firmly supported China on issues concerning the latter's core interests and major concerns, such as Taiwan-related issues, and considers China a trustworthy strategic partner.
The two countries enjoy close economic and trade relations and economic and technological cooperation. Chinese enterprises have invested in oil exploration in Niger, which has helped the West African country become an oil producer and exporter, and have also assisted the country in such projects as the General Seyni Kountche stadium and the general hospital in Niamey, the capital of Niger.
China and Niger have also made headway in mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of energy and resources.
The first half of the year saw bilateral trade volume reach 550 million U.S. dollars, up 19.1 percent year on year.
The FOCAC summit, scheduled to take place in Beijing from Wednesday to Friday, will be held with the theme "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future."
President Xi Jinping will deliver a keynote speech at the summit's opening ceremony on Thursday.
Niger's prime minister arrives in Beijing for FOCAC summit
The Mid-Autumn Festival Gala, to be held by China Media Group (CMG), will provide a stunning visual feast through the ingenious combination of state-of-the-art technologies and picturesque landscape scenery, aiming to impress the audience via delicate stage designs in romantic and aesthetic settings.
The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on Tuesday this year. CMG has announced that the gala is going to take place in Shenyang City, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province.
The stage for the upcoming gala has been set on the lakeside of Dingxiang Lake in Shenyang City as the event is aimed to present an impressive "beautiful, sincere, lyrical, and romantic" artistic vision.
Nestled against the lake, the circular stage featuring a 360-degree panorama highlights the integration of art and modern technologies.
The biggest highlight and innovation of the stage design is a movable "full moon". With a diameter of 12 meters, the moon weighing 10 tons sits on the main stage and casts light on the rippling water.
"The use of water is a feature of the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala. We hope that the mutual reflections of the images will evoke longing for family reunion. These buildings with styles of Ming and Qing dynasties, the typical and simple Chinese moon gate, we hope that through graphics, modeling, physical scenery set and the overall structural setting of the stage, we can combine Chinese aesthetics with modernity and infuse the Chinese aesthetics in the Mid-Autumn Festival stage creation, so as to present them to Chinese people around the world," said Wang Chen, director of stage art of the gala.
"When I got here and saw it today, I thought the stage setting is so beautiful. The big moon delivers an artistic conception. And there is a pavilion by the water. When a performer stands inside and sing, it looks like a beautiful painting. This time I will sing a very beautiful song, and I'll also dance in my performance. I hope people will like it," said Jin Chen, a performer.
In addition to the theme of family reunion, this year's Mid-Autumn Festival Gala also incorporates patriotism, as well as precious video clips showcasing the development of the country.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a significant traditional Chinese festival celebrated on the night when the moon reaches its fullest and brightest on the 15th day of the eighth month on the Chinese lunar calendar.
During the festival, family members would come together, share mooncakes while admiring the moon, and light up lanterns to enjoy the happiness of family reunion.
CMG unveils moon-shaped, dreamlike stage of Mid-Autumn Festival Gala
