Muscat – The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China held a ceremony marking the 45th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between the Sultanate of Oman and China.

The event on Thursday was held under the auspices of H E Sheikh Khalifa bin Ali al Harthy, Undersecretary for Political Affairs in the Foreign Ministry.

H E Harthy said that the celebration of this event in itself is indicative of the advance relations that the two countries enjoy. He reaffirmed that both sides are keen to enhance those relations, especially on the economic front.

Chinese Ambassador H E Li Lingbing also lauded the relations between the two countries.

She, in her speech, praised the depth of bilateral relations between Oman and China, stressing that the bilateral cooperation between the two sides has developed rapidly and covered many fields.

H E Li touched upon the historical relations between the two sides, noting that the Maritime Silk Road closely linked the two countries more than 2,000 years ago.

“The Chinese-Omani friendship journeyed through a long history and has been renewed over time,” she said, citing the voyages of the Omani sailor Abu Ubaidah to the Chinese city of Guangzhou more than 1,200 years ago, and the voyage of the great Chinese explorer Zheng He to Dhofar to buttress her comments.

In May, the Chinese embassy celebrated the inauguration of a memorial dedicated to Zheng He.

The construction of the monument began in November 2022 and was completed in May at a seafront site in Salalah. Standing at approximately 10m tall and weighing 10 tonnes, the monument has been constructed using 3D printing technology.

The monument, designed by the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design, is inspired by the Maritime Silk Road on which Zheng He travelled.

Thursday’s event in Muscat was attended by several officials and heads of diplomatic missions in Oman.