Photo by Huangshan channel: Pan zhenxiang

At spring times, China's diplomatic events occurred one after another. As soon as the trip of the Chinese Foreign Minister to South Asia ended, the home diplomacy resumed.

On the 30th, in Tunxi, Anhui Province, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi presided over the Third Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan, followed by the "Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan Plus Afghanistan" Foreign Ministers' Dialogue and other important agendas, which will also be held back-to-back in this small town.

In fact, more than ten days ago, the prelude to this spring diplomacy was already happened here. From March 19 to 20, Wang Yi held talks with the visiting Zambian and Algerian foreign ministers in Tunxi respectively, and held a video meeting with the Tanzanian foreign minister who was on a video visit to China. The small town of Tunxi became the world’s meeting room.

Why Tunxi? Why did a series of major diplomatic events choose to be held in this small town at the foot of Mount Huangshan?

Tunxi is located at the foot of Mount Huangshan, a world cultural and natural heritage, from which the Xin'an River flows. There are unique pines in Mount Huangshan, and the pine greeting guests are famous all over the world. Not long ago, at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, fireworks in the shape of the pine greeting guests jumped from the bird's nest, welcoming guests from all over the world with Chinese romance. In history, it is precisely because of people’s frequent visits that Tunxi has become the center of Huizhou culture. More than 400 years ago, Anhui merchants expanded their trade to Southeast Asia, Japan, Europe and other places from this area, leaving the reputation of "no Hui merchants, no business". Welcoming visitors from all over the world and have the courage to explore the world, this condensed expression reflects the Chinese people's tolerance, openness, pioneering and enterprising character.

The choice of Tunxi can also be interpreted from the measures taken by China's diplomacy to serve domestic development and strengthen Sino-foreign cooperation.

Since 2016, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has started to hold global promotion activities for domestic provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, creating conditions for local opening up and creating a platform for the world to understand China. For example, at the global promotion conference of Anhui Province held in 2017, Wang Yi praised Huangshan as "the best mountain, not only in China, but also the most beautiful mountain in the world".

The visiting foreigners can feel China's economic and social development while enjoying the diverse cultural and regional customs of China.

This is the first time that China has hosted the Third Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan. Due to the particularity of the topic, this series of home diplomacy in the spring has made the small town Tunxi a big stage for connecting the world.

Huangshan is not only rich in pines, but also rich in tea. The Chinese character "tea" when split, means "people among the grass and trees", which expresses the natural realm of "harmony between man and nature". Chinese people love tea, and they love to meet friends with tea. At this time, Tunxi Spring Tea is on the market. In Southern Anhui, foreign guests will be able to taste the wisdom of oriental diplomacy from new tea and find a solution to the problem.