Kunming, 21 May 2022 (GNP): May 21 is the International Tea Day. The International Symposium on Tea Culture of 2022 “Beautiful China Colorful Yunnan” was held in Kunming, China. More than ten experts from Sri Lanka, India, Nepal and other countries gathered online and offline on the “cloud” to carry out cultural exchanges and mutual learning with tea as the medium, and offer ideas.
Tea originates in China and prevails all over the world. It is not only a health drink shared by the world but also a “Chinese name card” bearing history and culture. The seminar is jointly sponsored by the Information Office of Yunnan Provincial People’s Government and the Foreign Affairs Office of Yunnan Provincial People’s Government.
The representative of the Information Office of Yunnan Provincial People’s Government said that as a major tea-producing province in China, Yunnan is known as the “origin of tea trees in the world”, and the rise of Yunnan’s “tea culture” is inseparable from the development of the tea industry.
On the International Tea Day, experts and scholars at home and abroad will be invited to exchange ideas and make friends, as well as convey the concept of “harmony in diversity” and the signal of openness and cooperation based on the topic of tea.
Currently, the tea industry has become an important approach to promoting rural revitalization and increasing the income of tea farmers in Yunnan, which further drives the integrated development of the local “tea industry and culture & tourism industry”.
Chen Lijun, Vice President of China (Kunming) Academy of South and Southeast Asian Studies and Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, holds that tea in Yunnan and China is dominated by green tea, while tea in Sri Lanka is dominated by black tea.
China and Sri Lanka can carry out in-depth exchanges and cooperation in tea planting, tea technology, tea sales, and tea culture promotion, and further promote exchanges and cooperation in economy and trade, energy, digital economy, and humanity for mutual benefit under the “Belt and Road” initiative.
Sumith Nakandala, Senior Director of Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies of Sri-Lanka said Ceylon black tea has gained recognition in the international tea market and become one of the national icons. China can cooperate with Sri Lanka to introduce value chain development and emerging technologies to the Sri Lankan tea industry to deepen bilateral ties and bring people together through tea culture.
Mahesh Saharia, the owner of Saharia Tea Group, chairman of the Indian Chamber of Commerce-NE, and founder chairman of the Centre for Promotion of India-China Cooperation, said that the global tea trade market is now facing the challenge of production exceeding demand.
He said that, as a healthy, natural, and sustainable product, tea could arouse the interest of young people, and he hoped that all countries could work together to make the tea industry move towards a sustainable future.
Kishor Shrestha, chairman of the Nepal-China Media Forum, introduced that Nepal produces a lot of tea every year and exports it to more than 30 countries in the world, and China is one of the countries favoring Nepalese tea. China treats guests and friends with tea. Tea is like a catalyst for friendship, maintaining the friendship between people. We hope to continue spreading tea culture and sharing tea with more people.
Muhammad Irfan Shazad, the executive director of Eurasian Affairs Research Institute of Pakistan, said Pakistan is a major tea consumer and importer with the black tea culture prevailing in the country. Now, under the strategy of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor promoting economic and social cooperation and exchanges, the two countries will once again revitalize cooperation in tea cultivation and production. He held that Pakistan and China should strengthen cooperation in the field of revitalizing the national and regional economy through the tea industry to achieve win-win development.
On that day, a number of new tea founders and representatives from Yunnan province of China shared the new path of the tea industry and product innovation and development, providing a new perspective on the development of the tea industry.