NEWS&EVENTS
Energy, Safety and Peace
Law, Culture and Religion
Communication
Economic and Trade
The Korean Peninsula
Belt & Road Initiative
Public Diplomacy and International Relations
Introduction to Public Diplomacy
Charhar Public Diplomacy series
A farewell event for Panamanian Ambassador to China Francisco Carlo Escobar Pedreschi who was leaving office was held in Beijing on October 9th.
Several experts and scholars of the Charhar Institute, including Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Charhar Institute, former Director of the Latin American Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, former Chinese Ambassador to Mexico Zeng Gang, Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Charhar Institute, Vice President of the Association of China-Latin American Friendship, former Chinese Ambassador to Cuba Zhang Tuo and his wife, Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Charhar Institute, former Ambassador to Chile Li Changhua, Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Society, the first Temporary Representative of the Chinese Embassy in Panama Wang Weihua and his wife, Secretary-General of the Charhar Institute He Zhigeng, and Member of the Academic Committee and Secretary-General of the Latin American Research Center of the Charhar Institute, Executive Director of the Latin American Law Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law Pan Deng, attended the event.
Experts unveil a commemorative stamp product which is specifically designed and issued for Ambassador Escobar at the farewell event.
At the event, Ambassador Zhang Tuo recalled his friendship with Ambassador Escobar while Zhang was former Ambassador to Cuba. Zhang commended Ambassador Escobar for his contribution to the development of China-Panama relations. He also expressed willingness to keep in touch with Ambassador Escobar for the friendly relations between China and Panama.
Ambassador Escobar, who is the first Panamanian Ambassador to China, expressed thankfulness to all the guests for their attendance. And specifically, he thanked Wang Weihua, the first Temporary Representative of the Chinese Embassy in Panama for Wang’s historic contribution to the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Panama and China as well as the help to him before and after his tenure in China.
At the farewell event for Panamanian Ambassador to China Francisco Carlo Escobar Pedreschi
Ambassador Escobar also reviewed his time in China and said that with the efforts of various circles in both Panama and China, his diplomatic work in China has proved fruitful, which laid a solid foundation for further friendly relations between Panama and China. Ambassador Escobar added that in the future, he would ceaselessly work for the friendship between Panama and China, which he hopes to last for generations.
He Zhigeng delivered a speech on behalf of the Charhar Institute. He warmly praised Ambassador Escobar’s unremitting efforts and his contribution to promoting the relations between China and Panama and the friendship between the two peoples.
He Zhigeng (L) takes a photo with Ambassador Escobar (R) at the event.
He hoped that after the departure, Ambassador Escobar would continue to pay attention to China-Panama relations and make further contributions to the bilateral relations. He remarked that as a well-known non-governmental think tank on diplomacy and international relations, the Charhar Institute is willing to keep in touch with Ambassador Escobar and friends of different circles in Panama for more cooperation. And he also welcomed Ambassador Escobar to visit the Charhar Institute in the future.
During the farewell event, the two sides exchanged presents and Ambassador Escobar received the commemorative stamp products which were especially designed and issued for him.
The stamp product specifically designed and issued for Ambassador Escobar
Former Chinese Ambassador to Peru Mao Guoyan and his wife, former Director of the China Tourism Office in Madrid, former Representative of the China National Tourism Administration to the World Tourism Organization Liu Wuxiong, former Secretary-General of the Philatelic Association of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ma Xiaoling, and several senior diplomats from Latin American countries also attended the event.
As an important part of the relations between China and developing countries, China-Latin America relations have entered an all-round, multi-level and wide-ranging development stage.
Although the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Panama is not long, the relationship between the two countries is booming, which is inseparable from people’s efforts in China-Panama multi-track diplomacy, especially the pushing of public diplomacy, an effective supplement to government diplomacy.
The Charhar Institute, together with its Latin American Research Center, has long paid attention to the development of China-Latin America relations including the China-Panama relations. The Charhar Institute held a symposium themed on China-Latin America public diplomacy with the Charhar Institute’s Senior Fellow Yu Xi's newly published book Have a Date with Panama as a focus, on January 7th, 2019 in Beijing. Several Latin American Ambassadors to China, including Ambassador Escobar, China's former ambassadors and state envoys to Latin American countries, top scholars of Latin America studies and journalists attended the symposium. They discussed on topics related to the development of public diplomacy between China and Latin America. The discussions also focused on how to play a better role of public diplomacy in international communication and how to make public diplomacy a key role in telling the Chinese stories to the people living in Latin America.
And a seminar themed on "China-Argentina Relations and the Argentine Political and Economic Situation" was also held by the Charhar Institute on April 23rd of this year. Matias Tombolini, President of the Council of the Economic and Social of Buenos Aires (CESBA) of Argentina and candidate for the election of the mayor of Buenos Aires of the year 2020, gave a keynote speech. And Eddie Tapiero, senior research fellow of the Panama Canal Authority, one of the Panamanian negotiators of the China-Panama Free Trade Agreement, and an expert on the China-Panama relationship, also gave a keynote speech titled "The Belt and Road Initiative and Panama".
Now the Latin American Research Center of the Charhar Institute has been growing steadily and has become a frontier of research of Latin America with distinct characteristics and unique functions in China since its establishment in August 2018. It has also become an important platform for China-Latin America public diplomacy.
In the future, the Charhar Institute will continue to pay attention to the situation in Latin America, focus on key topics and events relevant to China-Latin America cooperation, and keep on carrying out regional studies on Latin America and the studies of China-Latin American relations through seizing important opportunity for the rapid development of China-Latin American relations in the new era, so as to contribute more wisdom to the sustainable and steady development of China-Latin American comprehensive cooperative partnership.
Copy Editor: Zhu Yanhong