Envoys dig in at Earth Day bamboo garden

Toting bricks on the Great Wall with assistance from workers who mixed the white cement are wives of diplomats, from left: Anne Marie Ngarambe (Rwanda), Elsa Tecleab (Eritrea), Diana Saame (Ghana), Ange Mumbala Kumpel (Democratic Republic of Congo), Faten Soltani (Tunisia) and Amal Mohamed Deen (Sudan). [Photo/China Daily]

Six spouses from African embassies recently joined a volunteer renovation project at the Great Wall renovation charity activity. While the 2,200-year-old wall has come to symbolize eternity, renovation is needed from time to time, says Anne Marie Ngarambe of Rwanda, president of the Group of African Ambassadors’ Spouses.

The China-Europe Water Platform held a business roundtable last week to spell out opportunities for EU and Chinese companies to work together to deliver better water infrastructure in China. The platform promotes EU-China policy dialogue, joint research and business development in the water sector. This week’s business roundtable identified know-how, software and technologies that are required for further development of the water sector. Organizers, including the European Chamber of Commerce in China, the China Water Enterprises Federation, the EU delegation and key stakeholders in both countries aim to establish concrete partnerships around specific business opportunities.

The embassy of Venezuela launched a Chinese-language edition of Chavez Lines: A Compendium of His Political Thought at a reception this month. The publication was sponsored by the Institute of Latin American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the embassy.

The embassy of Argentina hosted a tasting of Argentine beef and wine last week for food and beverage professionals and the media. How to choose from 32 labels of malbec and malbec blends? The pricey ones were discernable even to untrained palates — though they became harder to distinguish after an hour of sipping and comparing. The event was part of World Malbec Day, and special promotions of Argentine wine and beef continued for 10 days at three restaurants in Beijing’s China World Hotel complex.

Chinese Ambassador Li Ruiyu last week welcomed a delegation to the opening of the Fudan-European Center for China Studies at the University of Copenhagen. Leading the VIP guests was Lin Shangli, vice-president of Fudan University. Earlier this month in Shanghai, Danish Ambassador Friis Arne Petersen and Consul-General Karsten Ankjær Jensen attended the signing ceremony at Fudan for the agreement to open the center.

Send embassy news to michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn.

Alberto Arizu, president of Wines of Argentina, and Antonio Mompo, the company's area manager for Asia, chat with guests about the 30 varieties offered at a malbec tasting in Beijing. [Photo/China Daily]