On 20th June 2024，Trinidad and Tobago and China celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between both countries, with grand celebrations being held in both Port of Spain and Beijing.
To mark this momentous occasion, on the evening of 18th June, 2024, the Trinidad and Tobago Embassy in Beijing and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), jointly hosted a banquet featuring cultural acts from both countries, at the Headquarters of the CPAFFC.
Her Excellency Analisa Low, Ambassador of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to the People’s Republic of China and His Excellency Shen Xin, Secretary General of the CPAFFC gave remarks, highlighting the close bilateral ties and friendship shared between the two sides.
His Excellency He Wei, Vice Chairman of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China, attended the event, accompanied by Her Excellency Hua Chunying, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China.
Following this, on the evening of 20th June, 2024, the Embassy hosted its Gala Reception in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary at the St. Regis Hotel in Beijing, inviting the participation of representatives from Chinese Government agencies, members of the diplomatic corps, members of the business and creative arts communities, the media, as well as the Trinidad and Tobago Diaspora.
Mr. Cai Wei, Director-General of the Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, delivered remarks at the reception. He noted that over the past 50 years, practical cooperation between China and Trinidad and Tobago had flourished, highlighting the official launch of the flagship China - Trinidad and Tobago Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project – the Phoenix Industrial Park Estate, the opening of an outlet store of the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD in Port of Spain, and the growing popularity of Trinidad and Tobago products among Chinese consumers.
Her Excellency Analisa Low, Ambassador of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to the People’s Republic of China, in her remarks, noted that people to people and cultural exchanges were an important aspect of Trinidad and Tobago – China relations. She highlighted that not only was Trinidad and Tobago the site of the first recorded organised settlement of Chinese persons in the Americas (arriving in the year 1806), but that Trinidad and Tobago-born persons had made important contributions to China (such as Mr. Eugune Chen - China's Foreign Minister in the 1920s; and Madame Dai Ailian - co-founder of the National Ballet of China and the world-renowned Beijing Dance Academy). Ambassador Low also noted that the Embassy was pleased by the growing interest in Trinidad and Tobago’s national instrument – the steelpan, and informed that earlier in the week, the steelpan was played on the Great Wall of China for the very first time – a historic first for the two countries.
The reception featured cultural performances facilitated by the China National Children’s Centre and the World Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritors Conference, as well as the Trinidad and Tobago – China-based band – the “Nightshift”, and a feature performance by the visiting steelpan virtuoso, Mr. Joshua Regrello.
