Diplomatic relations between China and Cyprus go back 46 years. And now the Belt and Road Initiative is bringing the two countries even closer, with fresh development opportunities. Our reporter Jiang Shaoyi sat down with China's Ambassador to Cyprus, Huang Xingyuan, to find out more about the deepening bond of the two nations in this new era.

JIANG SHAOYI CGTN REPORTER "Your Excellency, it has been about 46 years since China and Cyprus established their diplomatic ties, how are the two countries getting along with each other now?"

HUANG XINGYUAN CHINESE AMBASSADOR TO CYPRUS "Since the start of diplomatic ties, the two countries' relationship has been developing smoothly. Cyprus is, I should say, not one of, but THE friendliest European country to China in the European Union. This friendship is shown in many aspects. Our political relations are very stable. The two countries have a very high degree of political trust. High-level exchanges are frequent. Most importantly, the two firmly support each other in issues of common concern, and of each other's core interests. For instance, issues concerning human rights, Taiwan and the reform of the UN Security Council. Cyprus has been offering its full support to issues regarding China's core interests. And of course, China in return strongly supports Cyprus in issues, such as the reunification of the north and the south. I should say, the two have very firm political mutual trust."

JIANG SHAOYI CGTN REPORTER "Cyprus' President Anastasiades has expressed this in different occasions, for many times that Cyprus is willing to take part in this Belt and Road Initiative which was proposed by China, so how exactly will this initiative bring benefits to the social and economic development of the country?"

HUANG XINGYUAN CHINESE AMBASSADOR TO CYPRUS "The Belt and Road Initiative is a public product we proposed to the international community. And Cyprus thinks this is a very, very good product for itself. Cyprus is located at the crossroad of three continents. As the key of stability in the region, the nation hopes its surroundings could provide it with a good international environment. But the political games of the other major world powers is not offering the country such a good environment, only China offers this product of the Belt and Road which centers on peaceful development, win-win cooperation and mutual benefit. So the initiative helps create a good external environment for Cyprus. Secondly, it could stimulate the nation's internal impetus of growth. Although Cyprus has succeeded in developing its economy through the third sector -- its services and financial industry -- it's industrial structure is still relatively simple. Just like China's structural adjustment which increases the proportion of its third sector, Cyprus needs to expand its manufacturing sector. And the Belt and Road Initiative has provided a very good opportunity to meet Cyprus' needs. The two countries' economies are highly complementary, and if we could manage this cooperation, it would serve as an outstanding example for China's cooperation with other countries along the route."

JIANG SHAOYI CGTN REPORTER "Let's now talk about the cultural exchanges, what do you think we should do to further promote communication between the peoples of the two countries?"

HUANG XINGYUAN CHINESE AMBASSADOR TO CYPRUS "Although China has a very big tourism market --- each year 120 million Chinese people travel abroad --- those who come to Cyprus are very few, only about two thousand Chinese tourists a year. Maybe more in 2017, nearly 3,000. And in turn, just around 5,000 to 6,000 Cypriots choose China as their travel destination. So the scale of people-to-people exchange is relatively small. So how do we promote communications? I think cultural exchange projects are key. Our embassy has launched many such projects. Since 2016, there were at least 20 such projects being carried out. This includes movie festivals, photo exhibitions, as well as all kinds of performances by Chinese artists, and so forth. The increase in the number of projects is very beneficial for Cyprus to understand more about China."

JIANG SHAOYI CGTN REPORTER "Thank you so much, Mr. Ambassador."

HUANG XINGYUAN CHINESE AMBASSADOR TO CYPRUS "Thank you!"