Burg Chinese Chorus gives concert for 10th anniversary

A concert celebrating the 10th anniversary of the German Burg Chinese Chorus was held on Saturday in the western German city of Essen, presenting an audio-visual extravaganza that blended Chinese and German cultures.

At the concert, the chorus performed 12 songs including "On Road" and "The Garden of Hanyangmen." The beautiful singing earned resounding applause from nearly 300 audience members at the scene.

"We wish to attract as many young Germans as possible to develop love for the Chinese language and Chinese songs, so as to further inspire their interest in the Chinese culture, because exploring and understanding different cultures are very important and can also help deepen their understanding of their own culture," said Olaf Millmann, chairman of Burg Chinese Chorus association.

The Burg Chinese Chorus is a non-profit organization, offering the "Learn Chinese by Singing" program for German youths. To foster people-to-people exchanges between China and Germany, the group has been actively engaging in strengthening the friendship between the two countries through language and cultural initiatives.

Over the past 10 years, the German chorus has paid ten visits to China. During its March visit to China, it held two concerts and its members visited central Chinese city of Wuhan, the country's capital city Beijing, and Chengdu--famous for giant pandas there.

"I started to learn Chinese three years ago. I traveled to China for the first time this year, and the experience was really cool. I had a lot of novel experiences during this China tour and I saw and learned lots of new things. I am really looking forward to the future development of our chorus and I hope I will learn more lovely Chinese songs in the future and contribute my efforts to the people-to-people exchange between Germany and China," said Sophie Ermantraut, a chorus member.

Ivan Pavlovic joined the chorus seven years ago and had studied in Chengdu for one year. Last summer, as a representative of international students, he was invited to return to China to run as a torchbearer at the opening ceremony of the Chengdu FISU World University Games.

"When I started to learn Chinese as a child, the chorus opened a gate for me to learn about a different culture. One of my biggest dreams for years is to work in China someday. Not just to maintain my bond with China through the chorus in Germany, but to really live there in the future," said Pavlovic.

Burg Chinese Chorus gives concert for 10th anniversary

Business leaders and former officials from China and the UK kicked off a new dialogue in Beijing on Thursday, exploring ways to strengthen economic ties and collaborate in cutting-edge sectors including green technologies, new energy solutions, and digital innovation.

Participants from both nations, representing major global economies and permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, highlighted the vast potential for economic and trade collaboration. They called for enhanced cooperation across various sectors to tackle significant global and bilateral challenges.

The event titled "First UK-China CEO and Former Senior Officials' Dialogue" cast the spotlight on cooperation in emerging sectors. Potential collaboration areas include green technologies, new energy, digital technology, cross-border data flows, and artificial intelligence.

Sherard Cowper-Coles, chair of the China-Britain Business Council, emphasized the importance of bilateral trade and investment flows.

"There is a whole range of bilateral fields as trade and investment flows between the two countries, which are terribly important. China is now Britain's second largest economic partner. It matters for both our countries, for both our peoples," said Cowper-Coles.

"Whatever the noises of the cross currents, the fundamentals are that China matters more economically to the UK than it has ever done. Our trade is now at record levels in history, north of a 100 billion pounds a year, which is enormous. So, I think the fundamentals are very encouraging," he added.

Gordon Orr, vice chair of the China-Britain Business Council, commented on the progress and deepening relations between the two nations.

"The process is getting more stable and the understanding is improving. And there are clear opportunities to leverage the advantages in new productive forces to the benefit of both economies in health care, in green society, in climate control and the like," said Orr.

Inaugural China-UK dialogue paves way for collaboration in new technologies