Chinese community in Switzerland hosts concert dedicated to BRI

GENEVA, June 19 (Xinhua) -- A concert dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the signing of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Switzerland and China was held here on Sunday evening.

More than 300 people from Switzerland and other European countries gathered in the Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva to attend the concert given by Swiss-Chinese musician Zhao Yuan and the Swiss Saint-Prex Chamber Orchestra.

The evening was kicked off by renderings of the Swiss and Chinese national anthems, followed by excerpts from famous European operas, Chinese piano concertos and musical pieces from other parts of the world, including Gioachino Rossini's "William Tell Overture" and Lv Qiming's "Ode to the Red Flag."

Orchestra leader Zhao Yuan, who compiled the evening's program, told Xinhua that the concert's leitmotif was about win-win cooperation.

The concert was organized by the Swiss-Chinese Association of Fujian (a province on the southeastern coast of China), with the support of major Swiss-Chinese groups, such as the Swiss-Chinese Tourism Association and the Swiss-Chinese Cultural and Art Exchange Association.

About 30 Swiss-Chinese teenagers recited the "Ode to the Silk Road", followed by renderings of the "Yellow River Concerto" and "Blue Rhapsody" by Swiss-Chinese pianist Melodie Zhao.

Jean-Jacques de Dardel, Switzerland's former ambassador to China with the Chinese name Dai Shangxian, recalled that when he became ambassador in 2014, Switzerland was already one of China's most important trading partners in Europe.

Swiss Foreign Ministry official Jean-Luc Oesch said he was very pleased to be invited to such a high-quality concert.

"Switzerland and China have signed a free trade agreement, which is the basis for the development of economic relations between the two countries. In addition, China's Belt and Road Initiative is open to the world, and Switzerland is also involved," he said.

Music transcends the boundaries of countries, skin colors, races, ages and languages, promotes mutual exchanges and understanding among different civilizations, China's Ambassador to Switzerland Wang Shiting said.

The China-Switzerland FTA was the first such document signed between China and a European country. It has injected strong impetus into the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, he said.

"Trade can contribute to world peace," Zhang Xiangchen, deputy director general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), told the audience, "From the ancient Silk Road to today's Belt and Road, from the WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement to the China-Switzerland Free Trade Agreement, all our efforts have proved this."

"I believe that as more and more people pursue the beauty inherent in trade, peace, friendship, music and food, the world will become a better place," Zhang said.