Senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official Li Xi on Friday met with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, who is in Beijing attending the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, said China stands ready to strengthen political mutual trust with South Sudan, deepen practical cooperation, and closely coordinate on multilateral affairs.
Kiir expressed his gratitude to China for long-standing and valuable support to South Sudan, and his expectation to work with China in implementing the outcomes of the summit to benefit the people of both countries.
The three-day FOCAC summit, which just concluded in Beijing on Friday, is the largest diplomatic event hosted by China in recent years, with the highest attendance of foreign leaders. Themed "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future," the event aimed to strengthen friendship and outline future cooperation between the two sides.
Senior CPC official meets South Sudanese president
Chinese cities, towns and villages are putting on dazzling light and lantern shows, staging distinctive folk customs performances, and holding festive mooncake banquets in celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on Tuesday.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important festivals in Chinese culture. It falls on the 15th day of the eighth month on the Chinese lunar calendar and dates back more than a millennium. As a festival in honor of the moon and harvest, families reunite on the occasion to admire the bright full moon, light lanterns, and share the holiday pastry of mooncakes.
In the ancient city of Kaifeng of central China's Henan Province and Jinzhou City of northeast China's Liaoning Province, popular tourist attractions and landmarks are bathed in lights, promising a mesmerizing nighttime experience for local residents and tourists alike.
Beijing's famous Beihai Park, a public park and former imperial garden, is staging performances themed around bianzhong, or Chinese chime bells which has a history of over 2,000 years.
In tourist towns and villages of Yunnan Province in the southwest, Zhejiang Province in th east and Guangdong Province in the south, lively folk and dragon dances are gathering numerous locals and tourists to join in the festivities.
Audiences are enjoying a poetry recitation show in Hefei City, east China's Anhui Province, and a symphony in Zunyi City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, respectively.
This year, Suining City in southwest China's Sichuan Province and Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the northwest, have both prepared giant freshly made mooncakes enough to treat hundreds of people at a same time. And in a village of the southwestern Chongqing Municipality, people have prepared their own mooncakes on a flour ground from their newly harvested red sorghum.
"We are filled with the joy of harvest during the merry traditional festival. The festive mood is really nice," said Liu Ya, a local of Jiangjun Village in Chongqing's Bishan District.
Elsewhere, villages in Wuyuan County, east China's Jiangxi Province, are also celebrating their harvest of red pepper by drying them on the roofs. And another village in the eastern province of Shandong has recently held a large banquet for local households to share.
Outside the mainland, colorful lanterns are also dotting the various landmarks, streets and alleyways of Hong Kong and Macao, adding to the festive joy.
Celebrations held across China to mark traditional Mid-Autumn Festival
