On 18 March 2019, the Chinese Embassy and China International Publishing Group (CIPG) unveiled the China Book Center at the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman, Quezon City. Present during the event were Chargé d'Affaires ad interim of the Chinese Embassy Tan Qingsheng, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of China International Publishing Group (CIPG) Chen Shi, and UP Diliman Chancellor Dr. Michael Lim Tan.
During his opening remarks, Chargé d'Affaires ad interim Tan extended his sincere thanks to CIPG for their generous donation of 1,000 books for the Center, and highlighted the sustained betterment and growth of the bilateral relations.
"Last November, Chinese President Xi Jinping successfully paid his first state visit to the Philippines and elevated our relationship into one of comprehensive strategic cooperation. In 2018, China topped the list of foreign investors with 48.7 billion Peso worth of investments, an increase of a skyrocketing 8364%. China has been the Philippines' No. 1 trading partner with a total trade volume of 55.7 billion US dollars last year. The Philippines has also received more than 1.2 million Chinese tourists, achieving a 29.6% year-on-year increase." said Tan.
"The youth is the future of a nation, they are also the hope of our future relations. As the Chinese saying goes, reading ten thousand books is like traveling ten thousand miles. I hope the China Book center will provide you with a window to a complete picture of China and give you insights on China's history, culture, and development. And I also hope more Filipino scholars and students such as yourselves could become ambassadors for friendship and cooperation between China and the Philippines." Tan added.
Similar to Chargé d'Affaires ad interim Tan, CIPG Deputy Editor-in-Chief Chen also hoped the China Book Center would become a new platform for China-Philippines relations.
"The China Book Center is committed to introducing Chinese culture to Filipinos. We believe that the Center will play a positive role in promoting China-Philippines friendship. We also hope that it will become a new platform for the cultural exchange between the two countries," Chen said.
For the Philippine side, Chancellor Tan imparted a few words expressing his gratitude to the Chinese Embassy and the CIPG.
"I hope these books could benefit the University as much as it will benefit the Asian Center. I hope the students who are interested in Asian Studies will have more opportunities to study China. The establishment of the book center is very useful for the Filipino people to understand China more and I hope our dialogue and cooperation will continue in the future," said Tan.
The China Book Center includes 1,000 books in English and Chinese with subject spanning to China's politics, economics, culture and history among others.