Peru is China's "neighbor" on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. As early as more than 400 years ago, the people of China and Peru crossed the ocean and opened the prelude to exchanges between the two sides. Over the years, overseas Chinese living in Peru have worked together with the Peruvian people to share weal and woe, strive for self-improvement, work hard and start a business, and have made important contributions to the local economic and social development. The establishment of the "China General Administration of Tonghui" 130 years ago has made positive contributions to the development of Sino-Peruvian relations. I learned that at present, there are about 2.5 million people of Chinese descent in Peru. In Peru, the Spanish word "laoxiang" is used to refer specifically to people of Chinese descent, and the Chinese Cantonese word for "eat" evolved into a general term for Chinese restaurants. The friendship between China and Peru has long taken root in the hearts of the people of the two countries.

-- "Solidarity in the Boat, Sailing Ahead, Creating a Bright Future for China-Latin America Relations: Speech at the Peruvian Congress" (November 21, 2016)

Further reading:

"Trade benefits workers and benefits overseas Chinese communities." In 1884, the Qing government sent Zheng Zaoru, the secretary of Guanglu Temple, to the United States, Spain, and Peru. After arriving in Peru, Zheng Zaoru learned that the Chinese had lived in Peru for 40 years, scattered throughout Peru, with about 60,000 or 70,000 people. In order to connect the Chinese in various places, protect the rights and interests of the Chinese, and carry out all kinds of good deeds, in 1886, Zheng Zaoru founded the Peruvian General Administration of Chinese Communication. Over the past 130 years, the General Administration of China Tonghui has developed into the oldest and most influential national overseas Chinese organization in Peru.

After its establishment, the General Administration of China Tonghui adhered to the three tenets of "selflessness, trade and industry, and righteousness", and made important contributions to uniting the vast number of overseas Chinese, developing Sino-Peruvian friendship, and supporting the construction of the motherland. In the middle of the 19th century, a group of Chinese from Fujian, Guangdong and other places crossed the ocean to Peru to engage in railway construction, mining and other work. The General Administration of Tonghui raised funds in Peru to help them solve their problems and subsidize the return of poor and elderly overseas Chinese. At the same time, it also set up the Peruvian Overseas Chinese Security Center in Guangzhou to accommodate returned overseas Chinese.

During the Anti-Japanese War, the overseas Chinese in Peru were concerned about the motherland, and the General Administration of China Tonghui jointly established the "Peruvian Overseas Chinese Anti-Japanese Fundraising Association" with the Chinese in Peru, and set up branches in various parts of Peru to organize overseas Chinese to donate money and bazaar to support the motherland. In just over a year, $1 million was raised for the war effort. Zhou Enlai once praised: "6,000 overseas Chinese thousands of miles away, with a total debt donation of 2 million secret coins, is a model for overseas Chinese and the glory of the War of Resistance." ”

Today, the General Administration of China Tonghui continues to polish the golden sign of this "century-old store". The General Administration of Tonghui not only regularly assists and cooperates with the Chinese Embassy in Peru and domestic overseas Chinese-related units to hold various types of symposiums, celebrations and gatherings, but also assists the local police in improving the relationship between the police and the people, and organizes a fundraising committee to donate money to Peruvian national television fund-raising programs in the name of the Chinese every year. These good deeds have played a role as a bridge for the friendly exchanges between China and Peru and the mutual understanding between the two peoples, and have been well received by all walks of life in China and Peru. At the 8th World Friendship Conference of Overseas Chinese Associations held in Beijing in June 2016, the General Administration of China Tonghui was also awarded the honor of "Light of Chinese Community" for its contributions.

The vast Pacific Ocean cannot block the deep friendship between the Chinese and Peruvian peoples. The year 2016 marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Peru. At such an important point in time, Xi Jinping told the Peruvian Congress about the historical past of the General Administration of China Tonghui and the century-old friendship between the people of China and Peru, which is to show that "China and Peru are like a family" has a deep historical soil.

"There is no distance between each other, and thousands of miles are still neighbors." Peru, the "Eagle of the Andes", is one of the earliest countries in Latin America to immigrate Chinese, establish diplomatic relations with New China, and carry out economic and trade exchanges with China. Just two months before Xi Jinping's visit to Peru, Kuczynski, who had just assumed the presidency of Peru, made a state visit to China, his first official foreign trip since becoming president. The exchange of visits between the two heads of state in just two months also set a new record in the history of exchanges between the two countries. Peruvian Second Vice President Araus said with emotion: "President Xi Jinping's visit to Peru is of great significance and will certainly elevate Peru-China relations to a new height. Before Xi Jinping's speech, he was also awarded the Grand Cross, the highest level of honor in the Peruvian Congress. This also proves from the side that the development of bilateral relations between China and Peru is entering the "fast lane".