Photographic Exhibition and Seminar held at the
Malta Labour Party Headquarters
to mark the
40 Years of Diplomatic Relations between Malta and China.

Maltese President H.E. Dr. George Abela meets with the Delegation of the Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau
 

On the 27th of April, President of Malta H.E. Dr. George Abela cordially received the Delegation of the Shanghai Health Bureau at the Presidential Palace. The Chinese Ambassador to Malta, Cai Jinbiao, the Chairmen of the Malta-China Friendship Society, Mr Reno Calleja and others attended meeting.

During the meeting H.E. Dr. George Abela said that this year is the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malta and China. These 40 years, under the joint efforts of both sides, the relations between the two countries and the cooperation in various fields has achieved satisfactory positive results. H.E. Dr. George Abela emotionally recalled that President Hu Jintao went to the hospital to visit him after his accidental fall at the Shanghai World Expo two years ago. He was very moved. China not only timely arranged the treatment and care by well-known doctors of Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, but also sent him home by personal plane and was escorted by doctors and nurses. The profound friendship between China and Malta fully proved that China pursues the diplomatic concept of equality of nations, large and small, which has impacted widely in Malta and Europe. 

Mr. Hanwei Jun, Vice Director of Shanghai Health Bureau said that the Delegation made a special trip to visit H.E. Dr. George Abela and they were pleased to see H.E. has fully recovered. Shanghai is proud to contribute to the beautiful story of friendship between the two countries. Mr. Han told H.E. Dr. George Abela that the Delegation has visited the University of Malta Medical School and the Mater Dei Hospital. They have explored the feasibility of future cooperation.

The President and the delegation exchanged views on prevention and control work of common diseases in the two countries, such as diabetes and cancer.

Mr. Han Weijun, the Vice Director of Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Health and his Delegation were invited to visit Malta by the Malta-China Friendship Society.  The President of the Society Mr. Reno Calleja accompanied the delegation during the whole visit.

M.C.C.C. meets with new Chinese Ambassador

The Executive Committee of the Maltese Chinese Chamber of Commerce last week  had a long  meeting with the new Chinese Ambassador to Malta, H.E. Mr. Cai Jinbiao at his residence at tal-Ibragg.  The two sides discussed a wide range of subjects covering all aspects  of the Chinese Maltese commercial and economic relations. They explored   ways and means on how to  publicise the  advantages of Malta as a financial centre and as a  base for Chinese companies.  During the meeting it was agreed that both sides will work  to attract Chinese pharmaceutical companies and  a Chinese  bank to Malta.  The Chinese Ambassador promised he will do his best to organise a visit for the executive members of the MCCC to China. On its part, the MCCC will assist the commercial section of the Chinese Embassy in Malta to organise conferences for Chinese businessmen in Malta.   

The problems facing Chinese students and Chinese businessmen to get a visa for Malta were also touched upon. China's enormous progress in the field of alternative energy and how Malta could make better use of China's  technology  was emphasised by  by the  Chinese Ambassador. The two sides agreed to meet regularly to review the situation.

The Annual General Meeting of the Malta China Friendship Society was held on Thursday 28th June 2012 at the Chinese Cultural Centre, Valletta.  The meeting started with a short lecture by Dr Ronglian Ma, Director of the Mediterranean Regional Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine entitled, “Could Acupuncture help Obesity?”.  The meeting led by the Chairman, Mr Reno Calleja and by the Secretary, Mrs Doreen Sammut, was followed by a short speech delivered by the Chinese Ambassador to Malta, H.E. Mr Cai Jinbiao in which he explained the importance of the relations between Malta and China, the growing number of Maltese companies joining the Malta China Chamber of Commerce and the growing interest of Maltese companies to make business with China and also on the possibility of alternative energy for Malta, for which a delegation from China will soon be visiting the Island for discussions.  Following the election for the filling of the posts within the MCFS Executive Committee, the meeting ended with drinks which were served to all those present.

The Chinese Ambassador to Malta H.E. Mr. Cai Jinbiao held a meeting with the Malta-China Friendship Society to discuss ways of further strengthening relations between the two countries in all fields on 10th August 2012. The Ambassador commended the Society for its positive role in bringing the two countries and peoples closer ever since its founding in the 1970s. Introducing the recent developments and the immediate agenda on the bilateral relationship, the Ambassador expressed his confidence in seeing more and more exchanges on all levels between China and Malta with the Society continuing to expand its influence. On behalf of the Society, Mr. Reno Calleja the President thanked the Ambassador for convening the meeting. Along with other members of the Executive Committee and some new faces who had recently joined the association, Mr. Calleja raised a number of specific proposals on how to promote bilateral cooperation in a wide variety of fields which were positively received by the Ambassador.

A Delegation from China’s Zhejiang Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (ZPPAFFC) visited the headquarters of the Malta China Friendship Society in Valletta, on Monday 3^rd September 2012.  During the visit, the Delegation and the Malta China Friendship Society signed an MOU, an Agreement on Friendly Exchange Relations.  The Chinese Ambassador, H.E. Mr Cai Jinbiao honoured us with his presence.

A Summer Oriental Buffet was organised by the Malta China Friendship Society on Friday 7^th September 2012 by the pool at the Seabank Hotel.  The event was a big success, with the Chinese Ambassador and other high officials from the Chinese Embassy and the Chinese Cultural Centre in Malta attending the event.  About 200 persons between members and their guests attended.  During the evening there was a Taiji performance by Michael Micallef and his group as well as  table tennis games with the participation of Ryan Tabone, Miguel Balzan and Adam Zouri who, with the help of the Chinese Embassy in Malta and of the Malta China Friendship Society, had been in China to practice the sport. Ms Zhang Yuan Yuan entertained the guests during the evening with her music and singing.

In November the Malta China Friendship Society ended the year’s celebrations of the 40^th Anniversary of good Relations between Malta and China with an exhibition at the Cultural Centre at the Citadel in Gozo. 
The Exhibition was put up with the collaboration of the Ministry for Gozo and the Department for Culture.