On January 9, 2026, President Yang Wanming met with Milad Raad, newly appointed Lebanese Ambassador to China, at CPAFFC. The two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on strengthening China-Lebanon relations and people-to-people friendship between the two countries.

President Yang extended a warm welcome to Ambassador Milad Raad to the CPAFFC and noted that China and Lebanon enjoy a traditional friendship. Over the 55 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, bilateral relations have developed steadily under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, with political mutual trust continuously enhanced, friendship between the two peoples deepened, and cooperation in various fields advanced. The CPAFFC attaches great importance to developing people-to-people friendship and cooperation between China and Lebanon. The CPAFFC is ready to work closely with the Lebanese Embassy in China and friends from all sectors of Lebanese society, and to take the 70th anniversary in 2026 of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Arab countries as an opportunity to strengthen China-Lebanon exchanges and cooperation in culture, tourism, sub-national affairs, and youth exchanges, and make new contributions to building a closer China-Arab community with a shared future.

Ambassador Milad Raad said that Lebanon attaches great importance to developing relations with China, and that people-to-people friendship between Lebanon and China enjoys broad public support. Dr. Shafick George Hatem and the Confucius Institute at Saint Joseph University are both symbols of Lebanon-China friendship. The Lebanese Embassy in China highly appreciates the important role that CPAFFC has played over the years in promoting friendship between the peoples of Lebanon and China, and is ready to actively participate in and support various activities organized by CPAFFC, and contribute further to Lebanon-China and Arab-China friendship.

Liu Fang, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Asian and African Affairs of the CPAFFC, and Mansour Chaya, Deputy Head of Mission of the Lebanese Embassy in China, were present at the meeting.