On February 3 local time, the Permanent Representation of the People’s Republic of China to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture held a reception for the 2023 Lantern Festival. The reception was attended by more than 200 guests, including representatives and ambassadors of 101 countries or regions - the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Brazil, India and the European Union, the heads of three UN agencies for food and agriculture, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy - Maria Tripodi, and the Chairman of the Rome Division of the “G77 & China”.

On the eve of the traditional Chinese Lantern Festival, the Permanent Representation of the P.R. China to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture was decorated with lanterns, streamers and cheerfulness. A folk orchestra performed classic pieces such as Blooming Flowers and Full Moon, Colourful Clouds Chasing The Moon and Jasmine. Beautiful songs floated over Rome. Guests from all over the world gathered together to celebrate the Lantern Festival, share Chinese culture, taste Chinese food, express goodwill and discuss win-win cooperation. The scene was filled with a joyful and peaceful festive atmosphere.

In the welcome speech, Ambassador Guang Defu, Permanent Representative of the P.R. China to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture, extended his best wishes to the guests and said that in the past year, China's social development had been stable and positive, and it continued to be the world's second-largest economy, with an annual GDP of over 121 trillion yuan. In the agricultural sector in particular, grain production reached a new record high of 687 million tons (137.31 billion catties), achieving a 19th consecutive bumper year. China had been actively participating in international cooperation in food and agriculture, focusing on the agricultural demands of developing countries, and doing everything possible to support global rural poverty reduction.

This is the first time in more than three years that China’s Permanent Representation has hosted a large-scale reception, aiming to strengthen friendly exchanges and close cooperation with member countries and UN food and agriculture agencies to jointly accelerate the achievement of the sustainable development goals of the 2030 Agenda, build a fairer and more resilient global agricultural food system, and achieve the vision of "zero hunger" and "no poverty" worldwide at an early date.