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Documentary series 'In Their Eyes 50 Years China-Belgium' broadcast in China and Belgium
Updated 16:06, 26-Oct-2021
CGTN
The poster of the documentary series "In Their Eyes 50 Years China-Belgium." /CMG

The poster of the documentary series "In Their Eyes 50 Years China-Belgium." /CMG

The year 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Belgium. A series of micro documentaries entitled "In Their Eyes 50 Years China-Belgium," jointly presented by China Media Group (CMG) Europe and the International Radio and Television Union (URTI), and co-produced by CMG Film, Drama and Documentary Programming Center, was released on this occasion on screens in both countries.

Director General of URTI Daniel Brouyere and Secretary General Alexandre Pletser exchanged letters of congratulation with Shen Haixiong, president of CMG, on the official launch of the documentaries.

"Belgium hosts the headquarters of the European Union and plays an important role in China-Europe relations," Shen said. "Over the past half a century, the friendly exchanges between the Chinese and Belgian peoples have flourished as many wonderful and moving stories unfolded. This time, 'In Their Eyes 50 years China-Belgium' has selected young and middle-aged people living in each other's countries to show their recognition and acceptance of each other's cultures in a vivid narration. This is a poem composed with video that proves 'a bosom friend afar brings a distant land near.'" 

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Brouyere and Pletser said that it was a great pleasure to join hands with the CMG on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties, and they intend to work with the media group to build a bridge that strengthens dialogue and deepens the friendship between the two peoples. 

On Monday, the anniversary date of the establishment of diplomatic relations, the documentary was officially broadcast on more than 30 mainstream media platforms in China and Belgium, including CCTV Documentary Channel CCTV9, CGTN French Channel, CGTN English New Media in China and BX1, RTC Télé Liège, TVCom, Brussels Information Press and Decamps Media in Belgium.

The relationship between countries lies in people's affinity, and people's affinity lies in heart-to-heart communication. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties on October 25, 1971, the people of the two countries have been interacting in a sincere, tolerant and mutually rewarding manner. People-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries have been booming and unfolding. Behind this achievement are the persistence, contribution and efforts of ordinary people from both countries.

Three Belgians in China and three Chinese in Belgium, six vivid descriptions and six extraordinary experiences in foreign lands were unfolded and displayed in the documentary series. As lively individuals, the six protagonists made different choices, but they all chose to take root in each other's country, and chose integration, understanding and tolerance. 

The poster of the documentary series "In Their Eyes 50 Years China-Belgium." /CMG

The poster of the documentary series "In Their Eyes 50 Years China-Belgium." /CMG

Their stories may look small, but through details of their real daily lives, one could see the reason why the China-Belgium relationship has been developing well step by step. As an ancient Chinese poem says, "Despite the distance between them, true friends always feel close," the stories of these six people are also a true reflection of 50 years of cooperation between China and Belgium.

Belgian writer Maurice Maeterlinck once said, "Thus are we led by the past and the future." Looking ahead, an even greater number of people from both countries, such as the six characters from the documentary, are bound to sail to the other side on "a boat of friendship" with passion and sincerity, thus contributing to the deepening of relations between the two countries.       

04:54

In the first episode, Gianni Girolami from Belgium shares his experience living in China in the past six years. He is now married to Hong Yan, a Chinese world champion wrestler. Together, they've settled down with their child in China's southern boomtown of Shenzhen, where Girolami helps a startup intelligent storage company sell products to Europe. He said he aspires to act as a small link between his home country and China. 

Reporters: Jiang Qiudi, Jin Jing, Zheng Zhi and Song Chengjie

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