“I feel highly grateful and honoured as I cannot believe that the Chinese President found the time to read my letter and kindly reply to it personally. This proves the kindness and humility of the Chinese people. In the response letter of appreciation, President Xi Jinping hopes that more Maltese teachers, students and young people will actively participate in the people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and Malta,” said Azzopardi.

A student who attends the Science China Corner expressed her big sense of gratitude and excitement for the Chinese President’s appreciation of her school. She also conveyed the fascination she now has for Chinese culture. She explained that, “Having a Science China Corner in our school is an opportunity for us students to open up to another culture and helps us understand the beauty of China. The Science China Corner in our school is also an opportunity for us as students to learn to build bridges and not walls between different countries and cultures.”

While presenting the gifts to the school, Yuan Yuan said, “China and Malta are geographically far apart. We are also unique in culture and history. But the distance and differences do not separate us. The China Cultural Center in Malta looks forward to continuing the cooperation with the Science China Corner and with people from all walks of life, to further strengthen the mutual understanding and friendship between our two peoples.”

Chinese Ambassador to Malta, Yu Dunhai, complimented Azzopardi and his students, “In his reply letter, President Xi Jinping mentions that he has always been very supportive of people-to-people exchanges between our two countries. This is a vivid example of how close our people-to-people ties are.”

Clifton Grima, Maltese Minister for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation, thanked the students for their sterling work. He said that this reply letter from the Chinese President is a sign that we are living in a global village and that through education we can achieve a lot. He advised the students, “Be proud of what you have achieved and may this occasion fill your heart with the ambition to achieve more. The fact that in this school this historic event has occurred means a lot.”