On March 20, Chinese Embassy held a reception for Kiribati various island mayors. H.E. Ambassador Zhou Limin attended and delivered a speech, joined by over 50 guests including Honorable Minister of Culture and Internal Affairs, Mr.Tekaiti, Mayors and Clerks from Gilbert Islands.

Ambassador Zhou warmly congratulated the newly elected mayors, noting that since the resumption of diplomatic relationships between China and Kiribati, China has adhered to the principles of "Four Fully Respects," "Three Nos," and "Three Persistences" to advance bilateral relations, yielding tangible results. He emphasized that China prioritizes improving people’s livelihood in cooperation with Kiribati, working with various island councils to implement “small, effective, and quick-impact” livelihood assistance projects that address the most pressing needs of local communities. At the same time, sub-national exchanges between China and Kiribati have become increasingly close, provinces and cities in China have strengthened friendly exchanges and carried out in-depth cooperation with Kiribati island councils. In the future, the Chinese Embassy is willing to work with all mayors to strengthen sub-national cooperation between China and Kiribati, build a friendly bridge between the hearts of the two countries, and work together to promote China and Kiribati relations to a stable and enduring future.

Honorable Minister Tekaiti expressed his gratitude to H.E. Ambassador for hosting a reception for the newly elected mayors to promote friendly relations between the two sides. He adressed that after the resumption of diplomatic relations, China has provided strong support to Kiribati in areas such as infrastructure construction and climate change response, and it is hoped that all mayors can explore opportunities for cooperation between our two countries through sister cities, cultural exchanges and technical learning, so as to further strengthen the bilateral partnership.

Ambassador Zhou had a cordial communication with all island mayors. The mayors of BTC, ETC and Butaritari delivered speeches to share the basic situation and express their sincere gratitude to China for the valuable support given to each island. The Chinese tea art performance made all mayors even more memorable, and the event atmosphere of was very warm.