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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Chinese Consul General in Erbil Liu Jun said on Thursday that his country will start issuing visas in the Kurdish capital later this year, adding that Beijing has provided the mission the authority to provide all consular services.
“Later this year, probably in December, the Chinese consulate general in Erbil is going to issue visas,” Jun told Rudaw’s Dilbixwin Dara on Thursday after his government granted the mission approval to “offer full consular services.”
China opened its consulate in Erbil in 2014 but residents of the Kurdistan Region have had to go to Baghdad to apply for visas.
A group of Rudaw Media Network journalists, including Dara, recently visited China.
Dara asked the consul general why Chinese people do not know the Kurds.
“People in China do not know much about Kurdistan. Even for me, I did not have a lot of information on Kurdistan before I came to this beautiful city. I think Kurdistan people and Chinese people are two great nations,” replied the diplomat.
“They have a long history, long civilization and friendly ties" which "could be dated back many years ago. So there is a good foundation for further understanding of each other,” he added.
He noted that one of his priorities during his tenure as consul general in Erbil is to boost mutual understanding between Kurdistan and China.
Jun told Rudaw last month that Erbil and Beijing are “complementary” and expressed his determination to improve Beijing-Erbil business and trade relations.
“China and this Region are highly complementary to each other. So we can do a lot for the infrastructure, agriculture, communications [fields], and many more. I am determined to improve the business-trade relation between China and this [Kurdistan] Region,” he said.
In a 2021 interview with Rudaw, former Chinese Commercial Consul to Erbil Li Qingsheng said that Iraq was China’s “third largest trading partner in West Asia and North Africa with a bilateral trade volume of $30.1 billion”, adding that China has imported more than 60 million tons of crude oil from Iraq the previous year.
Trade between China and Iraq reached $16 billion in the first six months of 2021 Beijing is also the biggest importer of Iraqi oil.
In 2017, the Chinese consulate approached Salahaddin University’s College of Languages with the idea of a Chinese language department. Opening a school in the capital Baghdad came with security risks, but the Kurdistan Region was relatively secure.
“This year, we are happy to know that for the first time they have graduates,” Jun said on Thursday.
He stated that they have offered full scholarships to four of the graduates to pursue higher degrees in Chinese language, adding that they have also recommended over 20 Kurdish students to attend a summer camping in China.
“We believe that to start with the language is very important because when you learn the language you get to learn and know the culture. Language and culture are bound together,” he said, revealing that he is currently learning the Kurdish language.
When asked about the bad reputation of Chinese goods in foreign markets, the diplomat said they have launched a “tremendous campaign” at home to crack down on places that produce low-quality goods.
“The government pays a lot of attention to supervision and quality assurance,” he said.
“We can work together with other countries’ governments, with news media and with the chamber of commerce…on how to establish a normal trade relations with Chinese companies and foreign companies.”
“Later this year, probably in December, the Chinese consulate general in Erbil is going to issue visas,” Jun told Rudaw’s Dilbixwin Dara on Thursday after his government granted the mission approval to “offer full consular services.”
China opened its consulate in Erbil in 2014 but residents of the Kurdistan Region have had to go to Baghdad to apply for visas.
A group of Rudaw Media Network journalists, including Dara, recently visited China.
Dara asked the consul general why Chinese people do not know the Kurds.
“People in China do not know much about Kurdistan. Even for me, I did not have a lot of information on Kurdistan before I came to this beautiful city. I think Kurdistan people and Chinese people are two great nations,” replied the diplomat.
“They have a long history, long civilization and friendly ties" which "could be dated back many years ago. So there is a good foundation for further understanding of each other,” he added.
He noted that one of his priorities during his tenure as consul general in Erbil is to boost mutual understanding between Kurdistan and China.
Jun told Rudaw last month that Erbil and Beijing are “complementary” and expressed his determination to improve Beijing-Erbil business and trade relations.
“China and this Region are highly complementary to each other. So we can do a lot for the infrastructure, agriculture, communications [fields], and many more. I am determined to improve the business-trade relation between China and this [Kurdistan] Region,” he said.
In a 2021 interview with Rudaw, former Chinese Commercial Consul to Erbil Li Qingsheng said that Iraq was China’s “third largest trading partner in West Asia and North Africa with a bilateral trade volume of $30.1 billion”, adding that China has imported more than 60 million tons of crude oil from Iraq the previous year.
Trade between China and Iraq reached $16 billion in the first six months of 2021 Beijing is also the biggest importer of Iraqi oil.
In 2017, the Chinese consulate approached Salahaddin University’s College of Languages with the idea of a Chinese language department. Opening a school in the capital Baghdad came with security risks, but the Kurdistan Region was relatively secure.
“This year, we are happy to know that for the first time they have graduates,” Jun said on Thursday.
He stated that they have offered full scholarships to four of the graduates to pursue higher degrees in Chinese language, adding that they have also recommended over 20 Kurdish students to attend a summer camping in China.
“We believe that to start with the language is very important because when you learn the language you get to learn and know the culture. Language and culture are bound together,” he said, revealing that he is currently learning the Kurdish language.
When asked about the bad reputation of Chinese goods in foreign markets, the diplomat said they have launched a “tremendous campaign” at home to crack down on places that produce low-quality goods.
“The government pays a lot of attention to supervision and quality assurance,” he said.
“We can work together with other countries’ governments, with news media and with the chamber of commerce…on how to establish a normal trade relations with Chinese companies and foreign companies.”
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