As the 2025 Year of the Snake Spring Festival is approaching, the 2025 Spring Festival Get-together of the Western Returned Scholars Association was held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on the evening of January 16. Ding Zhongli, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and President of the Western Returned Scholars Association, delivered an enthusiastic speech. More than 70 diplomatic envoys and representatives from 39 countries, Vice Presidents of the Western Returned Scholars Association Liu Limin, Wang Chunfa, An Lijia, Yao Tandong, Yao Wang, Li Yi and others attended the event. Guests from the Central United Front Work Department, the Central Foreign Affairs Office, the General Office of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Education and other central state organs and relevant parties, presidents, secretaries-general and representatives of overseas students of the Western Returned Scholars Association’s country chapters, local organizations, group members, special committees and other organizations gathered together to welcome the New Year. The get-together was hosted by Li Min, Secretary-General of the Western Returned Scholars Association, and Liu Xing, Vice President of the Western Returned Scholars Association’s Southeast and South Asia Chapter and Producer of the Financial Program Center of China Central Radio and Television.

Ding Zhongli extended a warm welcome to all the guests, expressed his heartfelt thanks and sincere respect to the Chinese and foreign friends from all walks of life who have long been concerned about and supported the work of the Western Returned Scholars Association and the overseas students, and sent New Year’s greetings to the Chinese and foreign guests. He said that the Spring Festival is the most important festival of the Chinese nation, a festive day for families to reunite and bid farewell to the old and usher in the new, and has become one of the popular Chinese cultural symbols in the world. Not long ago, the Chinese Spring Festival was included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO. The Spring Festival is increasingly becoming a window for the world to perceive China and a bridge for the exchange and mutual learning of civilizations. More and more foreign friends will greet each other and send good wishes during the Spring Festival. This is a vivid embodiment of the exchange and mutual learning between Chinese civilization and different civilizations, and “harmony and coexistence”. While studying in a foreign country, Chinese overseas students actively practice the beautiful concept of tolerance, coexistence, exchange and mutual learning of different civilizations, and become a “Chinese business card” and civilization messenger to promote the connection between the Chinese and foreign peoples, showing the beautiful scene of people from different countries living in harmony and coexistence.

Ding Zhongli pointed out that civilizations are colorful because of exchanges and enriched by mutual learning. The exchange and mutual learning of civilizations requires the strong support and joint participation of all people of insight. The Western Returned Scholars Association is willing to work with you to use cultural exchanges as a bridge to promote the mutual understanding between the Chinese and foreign peoples and contribute to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

At the Spring Festival party, actors from Zhengzhou Shaolin Tagou Martial Arts School in Henan Province, Inner Mongolia Arts College, Sichuan Opera House and Sichuan Big Puppet Theater performed a variety of cultural programs, including the martial arts “Chinese Dragon”, the band combination “Silk Road Impressions”, Sichuan Opera face-changing, and the original music and dance “Praise to the New Era”, bringing a splendid audio-visual feast to Chinese and foreign guests.