Diplomats in China Visited Dali to Promote Agriculture to the International Stage

Caption: Diplomats in China visited Yantong Village, Dali (Photo by Shui Lianhua)

　　In recent years, Dali County, Weinan District, Shaanxi Province, has become a famous hometown of melon, fruit and vegetables in Shaanxi and even in Northwest China through the development of agricultural facilities, fishery, animal husbandry and the planting of winter jujube, melon and fruit. With the rapid development of agricultural economy, great changes have taken place in rural living conditions.

　　On October 30, Dali County embraced the participants of the Second “The Belt and Road” City Tour into Weinan for Diplomats in China. Ambassadors and counselors from South Africa, Iran, Tanzania, Rwanda, Somalia, Mauritius and other countries have visited Yantong Village, Pingluo Village and Changjia Village, and they showed great intention for cooperation to promote rural agriculture of Dali to the international stage.

　　Dali Village is beautiful and farmers there are confident

　　In the ninth month of the lunar calendar, when farmers were free as they have finished harvest, the villagers of Yantong Village gathered in the square to chat, and the village was quiet and peaceful.  The diplomats’ visit attracted the attention of many villagers, making the village somewhat quiet lively. Villagers beckoned to diplomats with “hello”, and the crowd burst out with a burst of laughter. Diplomats, infected by the villagers’ enthusiasm, shook hands with them and took pictures together.

　　At the villagers’ house, diplomats went into the bedroom and kitchen, sat on the Kang, and showed great interest in every aspect of their lives. “What is this?”, “what is this for?”, “how much will it cost to build such a house?”, “how many members of your family?”, they asked one question after another.  Sun Jiwen, former ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of China to Gabonese Republic, and his wife Yang Baozhen were on the scene to answer these questions and translate the living conditions of local villagers, ranging from small living affairs to rural economic development methods.

Caption: Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary in China of the Republic of South Africa, Debora Mmaseneo Balatseng was interviewed (Photo by Zhang Jingpan)

　　In an interview with CRI Online Shaanxi Channel, Debora Mmaseneo Balatseng, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary in China of the Republic of South Africa said that she could feel that the people here lived very well, their houses were beautiful, their facilities were complete, and the quality of life was very high. Laizer Joseph, ambassador in China of Tanzania, said that he liked the people here. He thought people here must be happy as they showed confidence and enthusiasm when getting along with them.

　　Show cooperation intention during the visit

　　In Pingluo Village, not far from Yantong Village, modern agriculture has developed strikingly. There is a 600-mu (400000 m2) solar greenhouse, 1600 mu (about 1066666 m2) of steel scaffolding and 3 flower sheds in a 3A level agricultural park. The village drives income increase of local farmers through the development model of combining agriculture and tourism. In 2017, the per capita net income of Pingluo village reached 13650 yuan, and it is now a provincial “Modern Agricultural Demonstration Village” and “Advanced Village of Rural Human Settlement Environment”.

　　  

Caption: Diplomats in China visited flower sheds in Pingluo Village (Photo by Shui Lianhua)

　　When visiting the village flower shed and tasting the fruit in the village, Ali Mohamed Hussein, counselor of the Somali Embassy in China, immediately asked: “Can we cooperate?” The mayor of Chaoyi Town (where Pingluo Village is located) replied in person: “Welcome very much.”

 

Caption: Ali Mohamed Hussein, counselor of the Somali Embassy in China was interviewed by CRI Online Shaanxi Channel (Photo by Shui Lianhua)

　　Later, in an interview with CRI Online Shaanxi Channel, Ali Mohamed Hussein said that Somalia is an agricultural country with a large rural population and a wide variety of fruits. Limited by agricultural technology, however, farmers cannot increase their incomes. “It gives me hope that I can learn the technology here and help Somalia develop its economy.” Ali said.

Caption: Diplomat in China of Tanzania Laizer Joseph took selfies with villagers (Photo by Shui Lianhua)

　　Zhang Huanling, director of the Dali County Bureau of Foreign Economic and Technical Cooperation, said that she is very much looking forward to enhancing cooperation with African countries, which will be a concrete practice of the spirit of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Dali. “We will soon come up with a plan to promote the success of cooperation”, Zhang said.