Chinese diplomatic missions worldwide hosted Spring Festival receptions this week to celebrate the upcoming Year of the Horse, which begins on Tuesday.
The Chinese Embassy in Thailand held its reception in Bangkok on Wednesday. It featured Chinese cultural performances, and a high-tech display of China's development in robotics and unmanned aerial vehicles.
"China and Thailand are as close as one family. I wish all Chinese people in Thailand a happy Spring Festival, good fortune and smooth sailing in the Year of the Horse! May the friendship between China and Thailand last forever and grow even closer," Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said in his address at the event.
The Chinese Embassy in Canada held its Spring Festival reception in Ottawa on Tuesday. More than 200 people attended the event, including Canadian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs David Morrison, Parliamentary Secretary Kody Blois, Senator Clement Gignac, Member of Parliament Zoe Royer, and representatives of Chinese communities, organizations and students in Canada.
The Chinese Consulate General in Johannesburg hosted its reception last Monday. More than 300 guests attended the event, including South African government officials, business leaders, figures of academia, media, non-governmental organizations and consular corps, as well as members of the overseas Chinese communities.
Chinese drum players, Chinese and South Africans wearing traditional Chinese clothing, and a South African choir entertained the guests at the event.
The events in Bangkok, Ottawa, and Johannesburg all featured a promotional video for the China Media Group (CMG)'s 2026 Spring Festival Gala, an hours-long variety show which is set to air on the evening of Chinese New Year's Eve. The gala is recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's most-watched TV program.
The Chinese Embassy in Sweden hosted its reception at the People's House, a cultural center in Stockholm, on Tuesday, where the guests enjoyed performances by a Chinese art troupe.
Stephen Brawer, chairman of the Belt and Road Institute in Sweden, hailed the event as "a wonderful celebration of the Chinese New Year."
"I wish to congratulate China on the New Year and I also wish to emphasize the development of China is an ongoing, wonderful benefit, in my view, for the cooperation between Sweden and China," Brawer told the China Media Group after attending the event.
Chinese diplomatic missions hold Spring Festival receptions
