The story behind Aimei Art Glaze Company in Zibo city, located in East China's Shandong province, reflects the enduring friendship between China and Malta – a partnership relayed faithfully to participants of the special promotions event Explore "Red Marks" in Foreign Affairs from Revolutionary Times, during their visit there on Sept 10.
Pomegranate-shaped products of Aimei Art Glaze Company. [Photo/zhonghongwang.com]
China and Malta established bilateral diplomatic ties in 1972 and the construction project of art glaze factory in Malta was one of the first batch of China's support projects under the agreement.
Boshan Art Glaze Factory - the former name of Aimei Art Glaze Company - undertook the task and it organized 33 experts to contribute in infrastructure and technologies.
Li Huazeng, one of the workers at the original Boshan Art Glaze Factory, was one of the participants in the project when he was 29 years old in 1973.
During his 13-month time in Malta, he trained over 30 workers to master general techniques for flower vase glaze-molding.
Li Huazeng, one of the workers at the original Boshan Art Glaze Factory, is one of the participants in the project when he was 29 years old in 1973.[Photo/zhonghongwang.com]
Li also recalled that the expert team also actively created new varieties of glaze works, in accordance with the demands of the international market and the preferences of the Maltese people.
The expert team wound up their work in Malta in July, 1975.
Since then, the Malta-China relationship has reportedly achieved remarkable progress.
