On 11 September 2015, “Silk Road Cuisine Display-Yangzhou Week” was officially opened. The Event was co-sponsored by China Public Diplomacy Association, Embassy of Italy in Beijing and World Association of Chinese Cuisine and co-organized by CPC Yangzhou Municipal Committee, Yangzhou People's Government, Consulate General of Italy in Shanghai, Yangzhou University and ASEAN-China Centre (ACC).
The guests attending the opening ceremony included Ms. Irene Pivetti, former President of Italian Chamber of Deputies, Mr. Francesco Rutelli, Chairman of Italy Cultural Priority Association and former Vice Prime Minister of Italy, Mr. Stefano Beltrame, Consul-General of Italy in Shanghai, Mr. Lu Fengding, Vice President of China Public Diplomacy Association, Mr. Han Fangming, Member of Standing Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Deputy Director of Foreign Affairs Committee of CPPCC and Chairman of the Chahar Institute, Mr. Shen Guofang, Managing Director of China Public Diplomacy Association, Ms. Yang Liu, President of Association of Chinese Cuisine, H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping, Secretary-General of ACC， and H.E. Ms. Magdalene Teo, Ambassador of Brunei to China. Ms. Huo Ying, Deputy Secretary-General of China Public Diplomacy Association, moderated the opening ceremony.
Mr. Zhu Minyang, Mayor of Yangzhou, delivered a speech. He extended his warm welcome to all the guests, stating that Yangzhou had a long history and this year witnessed the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of Yangzhou City. Yangzhou was not only the converging point of the Yangtze River and the Canal but also the meeting point of land and maritime silk road. Openness, inclusiveness and innovation were the spirit of Yangzhou. He added that green was the background colour of Yangzhou and culture was the soul of the City, while opening up shortened the distance between the City and the world. Huaiyang Cuisine, one of the four famous cuisines in China, was originated from Yangzhou, while Italian cuisine was well known worldwide. He hoped the Event could provide a good opportunity for the participants to experience cuisine culture from Italy and other countries and would serve as a platform to promote the cooperation on food industries and strengthen the cultural exchanges among the countries and cities along the silk road.
Mr. Francesco Rutelli in his remarks expressed that Yangzhou integrating an ancient elegance with a modern image, was a harmonious and livable city. He stated that Italy and China had a long history of friendly exchanges, and cuisine was an important part of bilateral cultural communication. Italy had advantages in the areas of food machinery and food services, and would like to expand its cooperation with China, especially with Yangzhou.
Mr. Han Fangming highly appraised Yangzhou's efforts in promoting public diplomacy through spreading out its cuisine culture. Now, rich fruits had been achieved and experiences had been accumulated. He expected Yangzhou could achieve more progress in the process of constructing "One Belt, One Road".
Mr. Lu Fengding announced the opening of the Yangzhou Week and extended his congratulations to Yangzhou for getting the title of "International Gourmet City". He expressed his gratefulness for the organizers' efforts and informed that hundreds of guests attending the Event included the Ambassadors and diplomats from 15 countries, 150 exhibitors from 49 enterprises of 6 countries and regions as well as journalists from all over the world. He hoped the participants could make friends through exchanges of cuisines and cultures, so as to further explore future cooperation. He wished the Event a great success.
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