Ambassador Helen Mamle Kofi and her husband Gottfried rolled out the red carpet on Thursday night at Beijing's Marriott Hotel East to celebrate the 56th anniversary of Ghana's independence. VIP guests included China's Minister of Water Resources Chen Lei and ambassadors from many countries, including several women Kofi invited to the stage to join a cake-cutting ceremony on the night before International Women's Day.

The French embassy and EU delegation in China teamed up to mark International Women's Day with a seminar on sexual harassment and discrimination against women last week at Peking University. The seminar was opened by Herv Dejean de la Batie, minister-counselor of the French embassy, and closed by Carmen Cano, the deputy head of the EU delegation to China. "The seminar was a good opportunity for French and Chinese experts to share their experience on a challenge which all our societies are facing, the implementation of the fundamental principle of equal rights for all," the EU delegation said in a statement.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto announced last week that he will appoint Jari Gustafsson to head the embassy of Finland in China as of Sept 1. Gustafsson transfers to Beijing from Tokyo, where he has served as Finland's ambassador since 2009. Gustafsson has previously served on the board of directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London and held positions in the ministries of trade and foreign affairs.

US Ambassador to China Gary Locke was recently in Guangzhou "to help mark this momentous occasion for AmCham South China": the dedication of the first officer tower bearing the American Chamber of Commerce logo anywhere in the world.

Locke said he was happy the event brought him back to Guangdong province, the site of his own ancestral village.

"I should probably let my relatives know that I would bring my family members including children back for the Tomb Sweeping Day in April, back to the family village," he said.

Locke and Consul-General Jennifer Galt announced that the new consulate now under construction in Guangzhou will be completed this spring and operational by June.

German Ambassador to China Michael Schaefer recently presented the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany to former Chinese ambassador to Germany Ma Canrong (right), saluting Ma as "China's great diplomat and a great friend of Germany." The medal ceremony was attended by Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang.

The German Embassy School will host a jazz concert of the Beijing International Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Maria Nauen on March 23 and 24 at 4 pm in the school auditorium. The program will include George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and other classics by Duke Ellington, Glen Miller and Astor Piazzolla. Another highlight: contemporary classical music by Brent Parker, the New Zealand native who is working and composing in Beijing.

Danish Ambassador Friis Arne Petersen hosted a combined event last week: the opening reception of the new "Young Artist Painting Exhibition" and a conversation with Danish author Jan Sonnergaard. The exhibition at the embassy featured new paintings by the artist Yu Jun. Sonnergaard also participated in the Capital M literary festival while in Beijing.

The Swedish embassy announced that Swedish photographer Peter de Ru will exhibit his catalog Sven this month at the Three Shadows Photography Art Center in Beijing. De Ru is represented at several Swedish state institutions, including Swedish Radio, the Nobel museum, the Karolinska Hospital and, since 2011, the National Museum in Stockholm. The Beijing show opens March 9 and continues until April 6.

Send embassy news to michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 03/10/2013 page5)