On December 6th, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Barbados held the Delivery Ceremony for the 2019 Chinese Ambassador’s Award. Nearly 50 people including Mr. Zou Xi, Charge d’Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Barbados, the Hon. Santia Bradshaw, the minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, the Hon. Sandra Husbands, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Dr. Romel Springer, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, Professor Justin Robinson, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Representative of Professor Eudine Barriteau, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Principal of UWI Cave Hill Campus and Professor Frederick Ochieng’-Odhiambo, Dean of the Faculty of Humanity of the UWI Cave Hill Campus, Representative of Professor Winston Moore, Deputy Principal of UWI Cave Hill Campus, the 2018 Chinese Ambassador’s Award winners and their family members attended this ceremony.
Mr. Zou presented the 2018 Chinese Ambassador’s Award to outstanding Chinese language students and expressed sincere thanks to the attention of the Government of Barbados on Chinese language education , which becomes one of examples of China-Barbados cooperation in educational and cultural areas. Mr. Zou highlighted that this year is the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. During the past 70 years after its founding, China has made significant achievements. Now, China is the second largest economy, the largest industrial country, the largest trading nation and the most foreign exchange reserve country. China has stepped out of a path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The 19th Central Committee of the CPC successfully concluded its fourth plenary session in Beijing in October. The communique of this plenary session said China's state and governance systems enjoy notable strengths. China is committed to transforming system strengths into capacity for governance, which is able to ensure the realization of the two centenary goals toward the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Regarding the foreign affairs, this important meeting emphasized that China will continue to stick to the principle of peace, development, cooperation and win-win, unswervingly safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, and unswervingly safeguard world peace and promote common development of the whole world. China will continue to adhere to the open policy of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, and promote the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative. And China will actively participate in the global governance reform and promote the work of building a community of shared future for mankind.
Minister Bradshaw and Minister Husbands thanked China for its great contribution to the development of Barbados in education and other fields. Within the past three to four years, well over 3000 students from primary and secondary schools in Barbados have received training from the Confucius Institute. the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Global Institute of Software Technology (GIST), Suzhou, China have entered a partnership to establish the UWI-Suzhou Global Institute of Software Technology. Meanwhile, in each year, in each year, around 10 Barbadian students have been granted Chinese Government Scholarships, which support them to study in China, and help Barbados accumulate its human capital resources. The two countries look forward to continued cooperation, cultural exchanges and in general, to a relationship that is mutually rewarding, so as to promote the friendship between China and Barbados to a high level.
The Advocate, Nation News, Barbados Today, Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation and other local media made reports on the ceremony.