Martin Azzorpardi, founder of \”China Corner\” and a science teacher at St. Margaret College Secondary School in Malta, recently lauded the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in an exclusive interview with People\’s Daily Online. Azzorpardi expressed his gratitude to the Chinese government for creating a platform that promotes cultural dialogue and cooperation among nations.
\”I am so happy to say that Malta was one of the first countries to join the BRI. This is what we need nowadays,\” said Azzorpardi. \”We don\’t need wars. We need to come together. We need to share the culture of each other and also share our ideas with each other and learn how to work together.\”
Azzorpardi\’s fascination with Chinese culture was ignited during a transformative visit to China in 2010. He journeyed through bustling cities like Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong, experiences that profoundly impacted him. Upon returning to Malta, he dedicated himself to promoting cultural exchanges between Malta and China.
In 2020, Azzorpardi and his colleagues and students from the \”China Corner\” wrote a letter to President Xi Jinping. They expressed their admiration for Chinese culture and lauded the vision of a shared future for mankind, as represented by the BRI.
Together with one of his students and several international friends, Azzorpardi visited many places across China, including Liangjiahe, a small village in Yan\’an, northwest China\’s Shaanxi Province, where Chinese President Xi Jinping spent a portion of his formative years. These visits deepened Azzorpardi\’s understanding of China\’s socio-economic development over the past decades.