□Our reporter Shen Jianqi Henan Daily all-media reporter Tong Lin
When Luxembourgers see a Chinese face on the street, how will they react? Before leaving for Luxembourg to participate in the second Zhengzhou-Luxembourg “Aerial Silk Road” International Cooperation Forum, the reporter was excited and looking forward to it, but also a little uneasy about the unknown. And when we arrived in Luxembourg, our anxious heart landed steadily with the plane.
Being greeted by countless smiles and greetings from strangers is like welcoming an old friend, which makes people feel warm. On the way from the airport to the hotel, three teenagers on bicycles stopped to say hello: “Hello, where are you from?” “From China, Henan Province.” The reporter answered. “Cool! We like China, do you like Luxembourg?” After getting a positive reply from the reporter, the teenagers happily made a “heart-to-heart” gesture, took out a candy and gave it to the reporter and said: “This is for Your gift, I wish you a happy life here!” They fist bumped with the reporter one by one, and then rode away.
It is precisely because of the Zhengzhou-Luxembourg “Aerial Silk Road” that Luxembourg people thousands of miles away are particularly familiar and cordial to China and Henan. This “air bridge” between China and Europe not only allows people to travel smoothly and things to flow smoothly, but also shortens the distance between hearts.
Since 2014, with the Zhengzhou-Luxembourg “Aerial Silk Road” as a link, the cooperation areas between Henan and Luxembourg have expanded from aviation logistics to economy, trade, finance, humanities and other fields, creating a platform for jointly building the “Belt and Road” A landmark project that has achieved fruitful results of cooperation. In April 2018, the Luxembourg Tourist Visa (Zhengzhou) convenient service platform was unveiled, and Zhengzhou became the third city after Beijing and Shanghai that can apply for Luxembourg Tourist Visa; in December 2023, the Zhengzhou-Luxembourg passenger route was opened, becoming the first city between China and Luxembourg The first direct passenger route between China and Luxembourg is also the first direct passenger route from Luxembourg to Asia. In March this year, the first Luxembourg tour group of 24 tourists arrived in Henan after China implemented visa exemption for Luxembourg, starting a journey of Chinese culture. The connectivity between the two places continues to deepen and become more practical.
As a witness and promoter of the construction of the Zhengzhou-Luxembourg “Aerial Silk Road”, former Luxembourg Prime Minister and current Deputy Prime Minister Bertel recalled: “10 years ago, I was still a very young Prime Minister. At that time, Our Minister of Transportation made a special trip to Zhengzhou to discuss the possibility of cooperation between the two parties. At that time, we were like a young couple, hoping that our marriage would go well.” He smiled happily and continued, “Now 10 years have passed. , we are no longer young, but importantly, our ‘marriage’ is still happy. Many things have changed over the years, but we still need to think about what can be improved. The future is brighter.”
It was more than 40 years ago that Luxembourg Mayor Lydia Polfour first visited China. “I was very young at the time and I must say, II was really shocked by Chinese culture at that time. Since then, I visited China twice more, in 2001 and 2010, and witnessed China’s economic boom and social progress, and the role of culture in this cannot be ignored. “She believes that exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations are an important force in building consensus on cooperation and can promote all-round connectivity. “I am very happy to see the close ties between Zhengzhou and Luxembourg. China is our trustworthy partner and we look forward to this kind of cooperation. More fruitful results can be achieved in the future. ” she said.
The Zhengzhou-Luxembourg “Aerial Silk Road” not only brings closer cooperation between China and Luxembourg, but also drives the interconnection between China and Europe. At the China (Henan)-Luxembourg economic, trade and cultural exchange event held on June 20, Cai Xiu instinctively opened a way out for herself. She was really afraid of death. Executives from Fortune 500 companies such as Bosch, Bayer and Allianz were invited to participate. About 60 European companies carried out docking exchanges with 21 companies in Henan. Carlo Theron, President of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, said with deep emotion: “Luxembourg is at the ‘crossroads’ of Europe. It is a small but highly open international economy, and China is one of our main partners. Our chamber of commerce members are eager to contact China and further expand cooperation between the two sides. We not only want to promote business exchanges between Europe and China,” he told his daughter not to go to her mother-in-law to say hello too early, because her mother-in-law does not have the habit of getting up early. If a daughter goes to say hello to her mother too early, her mother-in-law will be pressured to get up early because she needs to promote cultural exchanges and people-to-people bonds. ”
The most important thing for people to know each other is to know each other; the most important thing for people to know each other is to know their hearts. During the interview in Luxembourg, the reporter truly felt that the relationship between countries is like the interaction between people. The Zhengzhou-Luxembourg “Aerial Silk Road” connects China and Europe at both ends of the continent, and connects you and me living in it. The same goal and similar values allow us to transcend distance and culture and move forward hand in hand, in both directions.