In her remarks delivered at the opening ceremony, the President said that Lithuanians discovered China already back in the 17th century. Today, she pointed out, many Lithuanian people and companies are well known in China.

“I wholeheartedly believe that the image of my country, presented in the EXPO as a vibrant nation set for a breath-taking flight, is not accidental. Therefore, I invite to continue strengthening our cooperation in such important sectors as IT, communications, high technologies and internet solutions. Also in sports and in culture,” the President said.

Dalia Grybauskaitė underlined that the Shanghai EXPO provided Lithuania and China - that will mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2011 - an excellent opportunity to make bilateral contacts closer and deeper.

“It is human contacts that break the walls and build bridges. First important steps are already made - high-level visits are taking place; this year the Beijing Foreign Studies University has started Lithuanian language studies; some secondary schools in Vilnius have included Chinese into their list of foreign languages. On November 25, the Confucius Institute will be opened at Vilnius University,” the President said.