Diplomatic Pouch: With Mike Peters

Britain's Ambassador to China Sebastian Wood co-hosted an event with the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries recently to celebrate 40 years of ambassadorial relations between Britain and China.

The program, held at the Peace Palace in the Old Legation area of Beijing, highlighted Britain-China links between young people. The event featured a special photo exhibition showcasing young people involved in both the Beijing 2008 Olympics and the London 2012 Olympics. Five young Olympians from the Chinese synchronized swimming team were among the guests.

More than 200 guests were welcomed by Wood and the association's Vice-President, Li Jianping, including three former Chinese ambassadors to Britain - Ma Zhengang, Jiang Enzhu and Ma Yuzhen - and Vice-Minister Xie Hangsheng from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who was at the Chinese embassy in Britain from 2000 to 2002.

Sweden's Ambassador to China, Lars Freden, and the Party Secretary of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region Guo Shengkun, were on hand late last month as the Swedish pulp and paper giant Stora Enso signed a deal to invest in a new cardboard and paper mill outside Beihai city. The investment amounts to 1.6 billion euros, which is the largest investment ever outside of the Nordic region by a Nordic company, the embassy says.

Negotiations between Stora Enso and Guangxi have been ongoing for several years. At the March 20 signing, Stora Enso was represented by Gunnar Brock, the company chairman, and Mars Nordlund, regional director of its Asia-Pacific region.

Germany's Ambassador to China, Michael Schafer, has urged an audience in Beijing's sister city Cologne to "dance with dragons". He was talking about the challenges and opportunities of economic relations with China. In Western history, the dragon-slayer symbolized the people as sovereign over nature, he said, but in China human and natural forces create synergies, and are in balance. The dragon has a positive symbolic meaning here, embodying the highest authority. According to Chuang Tzu, the dragon represents the cosmic vibration of life.

"So for our Chinese friends, the dragon year is a particularly strong year," he said, suggesting the zodiac moment is a good omen for the anniversary of 40 years of German-Chinese diplomatic relations and 25 years of "twinning Cologne and Beijing".

Six top Shanghai engineering students are back from five days in Denmark, the Danish embassy reports, after winning the trip in an SAS competition, launched by Innovation Centre Denmark, Shanghai, in cooperation with SAS - Scandinavian Airlines, Copenhagen Capacity and the Danish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Higher Education.

The students visited four companies doing business in China and two highly ranked universities as they explored opportunities to pursue Danish degrees and careers. Technical University of Denmark, Aalborg University Copenhagen and the Danish companies A.P. Moller-Maersk, Novo Nordisk and Haldor Topsoe invited the students for visits.

"In Denmark, working hard is not enough," said Hu Minfei, a master's student in Energy Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. "Here you have to be critical, creative, innovative, willing to discuss, independent, social and ready for teamwork."

Embassy and consulate news can be sent to michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn