On October 24, 2019, Assistant Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong met with trainees who came to China for the 2019 Advanced Training Program on the Belt and Road Consular Cooperation.

Chen Xiaodong pointed out, since President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative between China with Eurasian countries and South Asian countries has been continuously deepened. Closer people-to-people bonds are the focus of the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, which relies on smooth and close personnel exchanges. The Chinese side has consistently adhered to the principles of mutual respect and mutual benefit to promote the facilitation of people-to-people exchanges and has signed agreements on mutual visa exemption with 146 countries covering different passport categories. The Chinese side is willing to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with all countries and to further improve the facilitation of people-to-people exchanges between China and other countries, so as to enhance the international cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative for more fruitful results.   

Representatives of the trainees thanked the Chinese side for holding this training program and said that they are willing to continuously devote themselves to developing friendly relations with China and will together work with the Chinese side to jointly promote the development of the consular cooperation and contribute to the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative.  

The training program is hosted by the Department of Consular Affairs (Centre for Consular Assistance and Protection) and organized by the China Diplomatic Academy. Thirteen senior officials from the consular and immigrant departments of eight countries including Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal attended the program.