On February 20, Deputy Consul General Cheng Hongbo was invited to attend and deliver a speech at the 19th Executive Board Inaugural Ceremony of the Confederation of Toronto Chinese Canadian Organizations(CTCCO) and Chinese New Year Gala. The event brought together over 600 guests, including Jean Yip, Member of Parliament, representatives from all three levels of Canadian government, and leaders of major Chinese community organizations in the consular district.

In his speech, Deputy Consul General Cheng extended sincere Chinese New Year greetings for the Year of the Horse to the overseas Chinese community and offered warm congratulations to the newly elected members of the CTCCO Executive Board. He commended CTCCO, as a time-honored and influential comprehensive Chinese community organization, for its long-term contributions to promoting community harmony, safeguarding the rights and interests of Chinese Canadians, and deepening China–Canada friendship. He encouraged the new Executive Board to remain true to the organization’s founding principles, build on past achievements to better serve as a bridge and bond, and demonstrate new responsibility and achievements in the new era of China’s development and at the new starting point of China–Canada relations.

Deputy Consul General Cheng also briefed the audience on the recent positive progress in the comprehensive  turnaround of China–Canada relations and shared the beneficial news of China’s visa-free policy for Canadians. He warmly invited people from all sectors in the consular district to seize new opportunities arising from the warming of exchanges and cooperation in various fields, to visit China, and to contribute wisdom and strength to the healthy, stable, and sustainable development of bilateral relations.