Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown expressed admiration for China's rapid development during his visit to Harbin, the renowned "ice city" in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.
Harbin recently welcomed numerous visitors from across the Asia-Pacific region as the city hosted the 9th Asian Winter Games from Feb 7-14. Brown was among them, paying a visit to China from Feb 10 to 16.
During his stay in the snow-covered city, Brown recorded a vlog and reflected on the friendly relations and cooperation achievements between the Cook Islands and China since the two countries established diplomatic ties 28 years ago. He expressed his expectations to further deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership with China in the future.
In an interview with China Central Television (CCTV), the prime minister said he has observed remarkable progress in China since his first visit to the country over 20 years ago.
"I recall 25 years ago when I was here. A lot more people were using push-bikes than cars. And of course when I came back later a lot more developed the country has become. But in recent years coming here, that development is accelerated again, and we see now a huge advent of electric vehicles, the new train systems that are being used at high-speed rail. The transportation networks are very, very modern, the advent of things like artificial intelligence, the technology that is now available and being developed here in China, it is a remarkable growth in the approaches and the use of technology today," he said.
Brown also attended the closing ceremony of the Asian Winter Games at the Harbin International Conference, Exhibition, and Sports Center on Feb 14.
The Harbin Games gathered a record 1,222 athletes from 34 nations and regions, marking the country's third time hosting the Asian Winter Games.
Cook Islands PM impressed with China's rapid development
