On February 25, 2016, the Honorable Doru Romulus Costea, Ambassador of Romania to the People’s Republic of China was the special guest of the fourth Ambassador Speaker Series event at Yenching Academy of Peking University. Ms. Adriana Stefanescu, Press Attaché at the Romania Embassy, and Mr. Radu Cozma, Third Secretary at the Romania Embassy in Beijing also attended the event.
The Ambassador was greeted by Professor Yuan Ming, Dean of Yenching Academy, Professor Jiang Guohua,Director of Operations, and Elena Ursu, a Yenching scholar from Romania, prior to meeting with the Yenching Scholars. Prof. Yuan briefly introduced the Yenching Academy to Ambassador Costea and expressed a warm welcome. After exchanging on the diverse academic and working experiences of the scholars, the Ambassador and Prof. Yuan discussed the significance of cultural exchange and international communication between Chinese and European students and scholars. The Ambassador spoke very highly of the educational philosophy behind Yenching Academy, and pointed out that the heart of education should be opening up opportunities for young people and helping them to understand the importance of dialogue and disagreement.
The Ambassador then met with the scholars from Yenching Academy. He began the speech by encouraging all of the scholars to communicate and learn from Prof. Yuan, and from each other as much as possible. The Ambassador then gave a brief and moving introduction of his homeland, Romania, including the etymology of the country's name, its brief history, geography, economic development and agriculture. He also shared some of his personal experiences working at the United Nations and in the Middle East.
Ambassador Costea reviewed and examined the relationship between China and Romania with the students. As one of the first group of countries who established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, Romania has a long-lasting and cooperative relationship with China. Despite differences in historical background and ways of thinking, Romania and China had both overcome challenges and are working hard towards a promising and prosperous future. When talking about the future development of Romania-China relationship, Ambassador Costea stressed the significance of innovation and international communication.
Ambassador Costea urged all scholars to cherish the opportunities they have at Yenching Academy, to learn and explore new possibilities in intercultural exchange. He closed his meeting by answering questions from students on the "One Belt and One Road Initiative" and other current international issues.
