□Our reporter Shen Jianqi Henan Daily all-media reporter Tong Lin
When Luxembourgers see a Chinese face on the street, how will they react? Just when she was thinking wildly, she saw the gate of Lan Mansion from a distance, and Cai Yi’s excited voice rang out from the carriage. Before heading to 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 took the initiative to stop and say hello: “Hello!” At that time, she was really shocked. She couldn’t imagine what kind of life it was like, how he was there when he was fourteen years old. After surviving such a difficult life, he grew up. “Where are you from?” “Henan Province, China.” “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, Zhengzhou-Luxembourg “This marriage in the air is really what he wants. When Mr. Lan came to him, he just felt confused and didn’t want to accept it. When he had to, he put forward obvious conditions “Belt and Road” as a link, the cooperation areas between Henan and Luxembourg have expanded from aviation logistics to economy, trade, finance, humanities and other fields. They have created landmark projects for jointly building the “Belt and Road” and achieved fruitful cooperation results. 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 just like a young couple, hoping that our marriage would go well,” he said with relief.With a smile, he continued, “Now 10 years have passed and we are no longer young, but most importantly, our ‘marriage’ is still happy. Many things have changed over the years, but we are still working together . We need to think about what we can improve to make the future brighter.”
It was more than 40 years ago that Luxembourg Mayor Lydia Polfour first visited China. “I was very young at that time, and I must say that I was really shocked by Chinese culture. Since then, I visited China twice more in 2001 and 2010, and witnessed China’s economic take-off and social progress, in which culture played a key role. The role 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. We look forward to more fruitful results from this cooperation 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. The China (Henan)-Luxembourg economic, trade and cultural exchange event held on June 20 attracted executives from Fortune 500 companies such as Bosch, Bayer, and Allianz to participate. About 60 European companies conducted 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 members are eager to engage with China and further expand cooperation between the two sides. We must not only promote business exchanges between Europe and China, but also 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 understand each other. 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.