“The Albanian people are courageous, intelligent and they attach great importance to ties of friendship. Valiant Illyrian ancestors and the tenacious national hero Skanderbeg once lived on this land. What also impressed me is that China-Albania friendship has left many memorable marks over the years,” says the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Albania, Ms. Pang Chunxue, in her first interview with Albanian Daily News.

Ambassador Pang delivered the credentials to the President of the Republic nine month earlier. She started her tenure on the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Albania. In this interview, she discusses bilateral relations and their untapped potential, but also important political developments in China and the country’s increasing international standing and its role in global developments and conflicts.

- Madam Ambassador, thank you for the opportunity to have this conversation with Albanian Daily News. Your mandate in Albania coincides with the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the two countries. How would you assess the current state of affairs between the two countries?

-It is a great honor for me to take the post of Chinese Ambassador to Albania on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Albania. China and Albania have long maintained profound traditional friendship. The Chinese poem “If you have a bosom friend afar, long distance cannot keep you apart” is a vivid description of the relations between our two countries. Albania is one of the first countries to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. In the 1960s and 1970s, China sent more than 6000 experts, technicians and scholars to Albania and aided more than 140 projects in promoting Albania’s economic and social development. Some of the projects are still in function today.

In recent years, China-Albania relationship has witnessed a sound momentum of development. The leaders of the two countries have maintained regular exchanges, and exchanges at all government levels are becoming increasingly frequent. In 2023, the two sides signed the Agreement on Mutual Visa Exemption as well as the Memorandum of Understanding on Tourism Cooperation, which significantly facilitated bilateral personnel exchanges. The consultation on entry permission for Albanian honey and dairy products to China has been successfully completed, and the export of Albania’s agricultural products to China continues to expand. In the first half of this year, the trade volume between China and Albania reached over 500 million USD, making China the third largest trading partner of Albania.

During the past 9 months, I have met with President Bajram Begaj, Prime Minister Edi Rama as well as other Albanian leaders. I also had extensive and in-depth exchanges with colleagues and friends from such sectors as politics, economy, education, sports, culture and so on. I have a deep feeling that there are huge potential and broad prospects for our bilateral exchanges and cooperation. Taking the 75th anniversary of the diplomatic relations as an opportunity, the Chinese Embassy stands ready to further advance cooperation at all levels, promote experience exchanges in state governance, and actively push forward pragmatic cooperation under such frameworks as the Belt and Road Initiative as well as the China-Central and Eastern European Countries Cooperation. We will encourage more Chinese entrepreneurs to invest and start businesses in Albania, and increase the import of Albanian high-quality agricultural products to China. At the same time, we are ready to further facilitate people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, and tap into the potential of cooperation in the fields of democracy, judicial reform, anti-corruption, etc. Let’s join our hands together to carry forward the traditional friendship and make great progress in China-Albania relations in the new era.

-Have you had the chance to get to know the country? What do you make of Albania and its people?

-During these 9 months, I have visited Durres, Elbasan, Fier, and Shkoder. I am deeply impressed by the beautiful scenery of mountains and sea, the goodwill of the local people and the social-economic development of the Land of Eagles. Now, I’m looking forward to more visits to the vibrant localities of the country.

Benefiting from the government’s proactive reform policy, Albania’s social and economic development has yielded new results. New progress has been observed especially in the skyline of the capital. In the past two years, Albania started the accession negotiations with the European Union, the national economy has maintained steady growth, and the tourism sector has realized remarkable development. The country is enjoying increasing international popularity and influence. China respects Albania’s choice of development path suitable for its national conditions. China stands ready to deepen cooperation with Albania, in the spirits of equality, mutual benefits and complementarity, in the fields of economy and trade, tourism, agriculture, culture, education and smart city construction, so as to benefit the two countries and two peoples.

The society of Albania is very harmonious, open and inclusive. People of different ethnic groups, religions and cultural backgrounds live side by side in peace, which reminds me of a Chinese saying “one should respect both one's own culture and the culture of others in order to advance human civilization”. It is in this spirit that the Chinese Embassy is responding actively to the initiative of “Albania Welcomes the World”. We have been working closely with the Ministry of Economy, Culture and Innovation in organizing the Chinese Culture Week this year, which is scheduled from September 23rd to 29th. Among others, we are presenting China-Albania Joint Painting Exhibition at Tirana Gallery, the Chinese Movie Week at Cineplexx TEG and the Commemorating Music Concert Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of China-Albania Diplomatic Relations at the Cultural Center of Orthodox Cathedral. All our Albanian and international friends are more than welcome to attend these activities.

The Albanian people are courageous, intelligent and they attach great importance to ties of friendship. Valiant Illyrian ancestors and the tenacious national hero Skanderbeg once lived on this land. What also impressed me is that China-Albania friendship has left many memorable marks over the years. From the aged recalling traditional friendship to the young who have been to China in recent years, many have shared their stories with me in fluent Chinese languages. I sincerely hope that the people of the two countries especially the youth could deepen understanding, friendship, cooperation and jointly contribute to China-Albania relations in the decades ahead.

-A key event took place in your country in July, the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Could you shed more light on the importance of this meeting?

-The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was successfully held in Beijing two months ago. The session reviewed and adopted the Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization. The session also stressed that the overall objective of comprehensively deepening reform is to continue improving and developing the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and modernize China’s system and capacity for governance. The plenary session laid out more than 300 important reform tasks, which shall be completed by the time the People’s Republic of China celebrates its 80th anniversary in 2029.

The session stated that opening up is a defining feature of Chinese modernization. China will steadily expand institutional opening-up, deepen foreign trade structural reform, further reform the management systems for inward and outward investment, improve planning for regional opening up, and refine the mechanisms for high-quality cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. In the first half of this year, China’s GDP reached 61.7 trillion Yuan (about 8.68 trillion USD), a year-on-year increase of 5%, and the total import and export of goods reached 21.2 trillion Yuan (about 2.98 trillion USD), a year-on-year increase of 6.1%, reaching a record high. China will be more actively integrated into the world economy and bring more development opportunities to Albania and countries across the world.

The session pointed out that China’s modernization is the modernization of peaceful development. China remains committed to pursuing an independent foreign policy of peace and will continue to fulfill comprehensively our shared values of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom. We will implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative. China calls for an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. China is dedicated to building a community with a shared future for mankind, in cooperation with the international community including Albania.

- China’s growing presence in Africa is not a secret anymore. The recently held Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is a clear proof. What did this summit discuss?

-From September 4th to 6th, the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was successfully held. The theme of the Summit is Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future. Leaders of China and more than 50 African countries, regional organizations in Africa as well as international organizations gathered in Beijing and together mapped out a new blueprint for the development of China-Africa relations, opening a new chapter for Global South solidarity and cooperation.

President Xi Jinping noted in his keynote speech that the friendship between China and Africa transcends time and space, crosses mountains and oceans, and passes on from generation to generation. As the result of nearly 70 years of tireless efforts from both sides, China-Africa relationship is now at its best in history. The two sides are jointly advancing modernization of 6 dimensions, namely a modernization that is just and equitable, that is open and mutually beneficial, that puts the people in the first place, that features diversity and inclusiveness, that is eco-friendly, and a modernization that is underpinned by peace and security. In the next three years, China will work with Africa to take 10 actions of partnership to deepen China-Africa cooperation and spearhead the Global South modernization. The Chinese government will provide Africa with RMB360 billion Yuan (about 50.7 billion USD) of financial support, implement 30 infrastructure connectivity projects in Africa, grant zero-tariff treatment to commodities from 33 African countries, implement concretely the Future of Africa—Vocational Education Cooperation Plan with the African side and provide 60,000 training opportunities to Africa. The keynote speech by President Xi has been highly appreciated by the African leaders.

During the Summit, China-African relations have been upgraded to all-weather community with a shared future for the new era, which has clearer characterization and much more substance. The Summit sent a clear message of China and Africa pursuing future development together, and demonstrated the Global South’s unwavering confidence in unity and cooperation. Indeed, the FOCAC Summit is a “Global South moment,” a highlight of the joint pursuit of a community with a shared future for mankind.

- Your Excellency, allow me to discuss a little bit about China’s growing role as an international mediator. We have witnessed Beijing’s active mediation in Iran-Saudi Arabia long enmity, Hamas-Fatah’s recent agreement, or the visit of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba, which was accompanied by President Zelenskyy’s call for China to play e greater role in the peace efforts with Russia. I would like your comment about this relatively new dimension of China’s international diplomacy.

-As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a responsible major power, China has always been firmly committed to promoting political solutions to international and regional hotspot issues. China has actively promoted the Global Security Initiative and made important achievements in facilitating the resumption of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran as well as the internal reconciliation among 14 political factions of Palestine.

With regard to the Ukraine crisis, China is committed to promoting talks for peace and seeking for a political settlement at an early date. China has conducted four rounds of shuttle diplomacy and jointly issued with Brazil the Six Common Understandings, which have so far received positive feedback from 110 countries. China maintains that the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected. China is for the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. And China opposes seeking one’s own security by sacrificing others’ security. China calls on all parties concerned to stay rational and exercise restraint, avoid fanning the flames or aggravating tensions, and prevent the crisis from deteriorating further or even spiraling out of control. Before the crisis is resolved, it is highly necessary to protect effectively the safety of civilians, from both sides, and prevent the occurrence of a larger-scale humanitarian disaster.

The Palestine issue is at the core of the Middle East issue. China condemns and opposes all acts that harm civilians or violate the international humanitarian law. In response to the ongoing Gaza conflict, China has proposed a three-step initiative.

The first step is achieving comprehensive, lasting and sustainable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as soon as possible, and ensuring unimpeded access to humanitarian aid and rescue on the ground.

The second step is making joint efforts toward post-conflict governance of Gaza under the principle of “the Palestinians governing Palestine”.

The third step is making Palestine a full UN member state and beginning to implement the two-state solution. China will continue to support all efforts that are conducive to achieving a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza, to avoid further escalation of conflicts and confrontations, and for an early easing of the situation in the Middle East. / ADN