Outgoing Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Antigua and Barbuda, H.E Zhang Yanling, was treated to cultural performances and warm reflections at a special reception held in her honour on Monday night.
Senior government officials, led by the Governor General’s Deputy, Sir Clare Roberts and Lady Roberts, Prime Minister Gaston Browne, Health Minister Sir Molwyn Joseph, Foreign Affairs Minister, E.P Chet Greene and other Cabinet members, joined members of the diplomatic corps, staff of both the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other invited guests, all came together to give a special send off to the beloved ambassador.
Prime Minister Browne described her as ‘an excellent and an extraordinary’ ambassador who has made a very important contribution towards strengthening the bilateral relationship between the PRC and Antigua and Barbuda.
“I have been in politics for some 26 years and I have had to interact with Chinese ambassadors from the Lester Bird Administration, then the Baldwin Spencer Administration and now my administration, and I must say that Ambassador Zhang is one of the most effective and one of the most professional ambassadors that has served Antigua and Barbuda from China,” he observed.
He said the fact that the government was hosting the special reception speaks volume to the tremendous work that Ambassador Zhang had been able to accomplish during her tenure. “It’s not very often that we hold these functions for a departing ambassador,” he disclosed.
The prime minister recalled that the ambassador arrived in St. John’s during the period of COVID-19 and she immediately sprang into action to secure vaccines and other assistance from China for Antigua and Barbuda. During her tenure she arranged funding support for SIDS4 and the OAS General Assembly as well as her signature project, the Booby Alley Housing Development.
For Foreign Minister, E.P Chet Greene, it was with a touch of sadness that he was saying farewell to ‘a true friend of Antigua and Barbuda’. “For the past four years, Ambassador Zhang has not just been the head of the Chinese Mission, she has been a dedicated architect of a stronger partnership between our two nations. Reflecting on her tenure, one thing is without doubt: she has profoundly strengthened the bonds of friendship and cooperation,” he declared.
In response, Ambassador Zhang admitted that leaving Antigua and Barbuda was a particularly hard thing to do. “At this bittersweet moment, what fills me most is how valuable we both regard the good relationship between our two countries and people. We have always been joining our efforts to stand on the right side of history,” she stated.
She added that China appreciates Antigua and Barbuda’s long-standing commitment to the one-China principle adding that ‘China firmly supports Antigua and Barbuda in pursuing development paths suited to its national conditions, safeguarding its sovereignty and independence’.
The evening included entertainment featuring Khan Cordice on pan as organisers gave deference to Ambassador Zhang’s love for the steel band art-form. A teacher from the Sir Novelle Richards Academy, a school with which Ambassador Zhang has close ties, performed a song in Chinese to the delight of the ambassador and the other Chinese guests, while a member of the Elite Dance Company performed a traditional Antigua and Barbuda cultural dance.
During the reception several gifts were presented to Ambassador Zhang; from Prime Minister Gaston Browne; from Foreign Affairs Minister, E.P Chet Greene; a Chinese national living in Antigua, Ambassador Lionel Hurst and his sister, Ivy, and a representative of the Sir Novelle Richards Academy, who also sang in Chinese, Teacher Williams.
