A forum entitled ‘Generational and Dimensional – Mauritius and China Relations’ was held, on Friday at the Municipal Council of Port Louis, at the initiative of the New Chinatown Foundation in the context of the 50th anniversary of the bilateral relations between Mauritius and China.
The Parliamentary Private Secretaries, Mr Rajanah Dhaliah and Mr Nand Prakash Ramchurrun; the Consul of the Chinese Embassy in Mauritius, Mr Pu; and the President of the New Chinatown Foundation, Mr Jean Paul Lam, were present.
The aim of the forum was to share the experience of different generations of Sino-Mauritians on the evolution of this friendship to the new generation. This forum was addressed to young people where they discovered how the diplomatic, cultural, and commercial relations between the two countries were founded, the evolution and the future of this friendship.
In his address, Mr Dhaliah recalled that since the establishment of bilateral relations between Mauritius and China in 1972, the China-Mauritius relations have witnessed sound and steady development, ever-lasting and stronger traditional friendship, as well as increasingly deepening bilateral cooperation in various fields. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, people of the two countries have stood together with mutual assistance in times of difficulty, demonstrating the profound friendship of sharing joy and sorrow, he said.
Speaking about the Sino-Mauritians, he observed that the centuries-old Chinese diaspora community has kept their traditions alive throughout the ages. Shifting tides, he underlined, have caused their numbers to swell and ebb, but the dedicated focus of community elders has helped preserve their most time-tested customs.
For his part, the Consul of the Chinese Embassy in Mauritius, Mr Pu, recalled that on 15 April 2022, the celebrations marking the establishment of 50 years of diplomatic relations between China and Mauritius kicked off. He underlined that this jubilee celebration is an opportunity to showcase the quality of the Mauritius-China relationship, based on trust, solidarity, and respect.
He further highlighted that Mauritius is the first and only country in Africa where the Chinese Spring Festival is a national holiday. Over the past 50 years, Mauritius and China have forged a profound friendship, with all-round development of exchanges and cooperation in various fields, he stated.
Mr Pu added that the entry into force and implementation of the Free Trade Agreement has further strengthened the close relations between the two countries. He observed that since the implementation of the FTA, trade volume between Mauritius and China has increased by 25% in 2021 as compared to 2020 adding that Mauritian exports to China have also increased by 35%. According to him, Mauritius has become a China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation platform by virtue of its geographical location. He also dwelt on the opportunities for greater cooperation in several fields such as health, trade, investment, and green development.
The forum was divided into two parts. The first part was a symposium by different generations of Chinese-Mauritians who shared their experiences while the second part comprised talks by representatives of different universities on the future of young people through the friendship between China and Mauritius.
