On 8 February 2022, the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, the China-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (CHINALUX), the Confucius Institute at the University of Luxembourg, and the China Cultural Center in Luxembourg, with support from one of Luxembourg’s leading travel agencies, Euro-Asie, hosted an online event to celebrate the Chinese New Year and welcome the Year of the Tiger. As the second consecutive year in the context of the current pandemic, the event, moderated by CHINALUX Vice-President Jacques Bortuzzo, served to bring China and Luxembourg together digitally. About 115 people participated via Zoom and enjoyed a one-hour cultural and musical feast.
2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the bilateral relations between China and Luxembourg. In a video greeting, Mr Franz Fayot, Minister of the Economy of Luxembourg, expressed his best wishes and hopes for the upcoming Year of the Tiger. The tiger is associated with bravery, strength and confidence. He took the opportunity to give an overview of the 50 year history between the two countries. From the Luxembourg engineer, Eugene Ruppert, who went to China to help to build the steel industry in the late 19th century; to the development of industrial engineering firm Paul Wurth in China; to the state visit of H.R.H. Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg to China, as well as the establishment of the Bank of China in Luxembourg, which both happened in 1979; up to the state visit of H.R.H. Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg in 2006 to inaugurate the Consulate General of Luxembourg in Shanghai; and, more recently, Luxembourg’s participation in the Shanghai World Expo in 2010 with a national pavilion. He also highlighted the solid economic and financial relations between the two nations, and congratulated the Chinese startups and financial institutions for their achievements in green finance. He further mentioned the diverse, rich cultural and educational exchanges between the two countries, and praised Ni Xialian, the Chinese-born table tennis player who has represented Luxembourg since 1991.
H.E. Mrs Yang Xiaorong, the Chinese Ambassador to Luxembourg, welcomed the Year of Tiger by highlighting that despite the crisis of the pandemic, China’s GDP in 2021 was USD 17.7 trillion, with an increase of 8.1%, and a GDP per capita of USD 12,000, thus ranking second in the world. Further, import and export reached USD 6.05 trillion, an increase of 21.4%. More specifically, the import and export volumes between Luxembourg and China totaled USD 1.85 billion in 2021. Chinese investments in Luxembourg increased by 112% and Luxembourg investments in China increased by 36.2%.
Ambassador Yang also mentioned the current Grand Duke Henri’s visit to Beijing on the occasion of the Winter Olympic Games and his meeting with President XI Jinping, thus confirming the engagement of both countries in promoting Sino-Luxembourgish bilateral relations.
As President of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Mr Luc Frieden was present in person and wished the Chinese living in Luxembourg and around the world a happy Lunar New Year. He emphasised that the answers to the continuing pandemic worldwide, high energy prices, supply chain problems, inflation and some geopolitical tensions require international cooperation, including cooperation between China and Europe. He highlighted that, ‘fighting the virus in all countries, dealing with climate change and adopting policies that encourage economic development and prosperity is now our common task. Free and fair trade plays an important role for economic and social development around the world’.
Mr Frieden praised the evolution of China-Luxembourg trade and investment during the past 50 years of diplomatic and economic relations. He also stated his conviction that, further to the achievements made by Cargolux and Chinese banks, there is much more potential for China-Luxembourg cooperation in finance, logistics, space and healthtech. At the end of his speech, he called for a relaunch of dialogue and to approve the investment agreement between China and the European Union.
Ms Xie Zhujun, President of CHINALUX, also conveyed her greetings live, in person, and further explained the meaning of the Year of the Tiger for participants and presented her best wishes to all members of the bilateral chamber celebrating with their friends and families. She recalled the events of the last year organised by the chamber and confirmed that CHINALUX will give its continuous support to its members and to the mutual business developments between China and Luxembourg.
Mr Zhang Jing of the China Cultural Center in Luxembourg (CCCL) also wished everyone a Happy New Year and announced the important celebrations of the golden jubilee year. His speech was followed by three performances: the Dance of Ceramics Ballet, a famous piece of ‘face-changing’ Sichuan opera, and a breathtaking under-water dance known as the ‘Goddess of the Luo River’.
From the Confucius Institute at the University of Luxembourg, Prof. Dr Stéphane Pallage, the rector of the University of Luxembourg, expressed his best wishes for a Happy New Year and conveyed his sincere hopes that 2022 would be the first year post pandemic.
The Director of the Confucius Institute, Mr Jauffrey Bareille, and his colleagues revealed as an ‘avant-première’ a brand new series of Chinese lessons, with lots of humour.
The last feature was organised by Mr Zhang Yong of Luxembourg’s renowned Euro-Asie travel agency and included Chinese songs and New Year wishes from the whole team at the travel agency, as well as greetings from Mr Lex Delles, Minister of Tourism of Luxembourg, Mr Mars Di Bartolomeo, Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies, and Mr Maxim Straus, Vice-President and CFO of Cargolux.
The closing address of the event was given by all organisers who expressed their best wishes for the year to come in five different languages and four Chinese dialects.