(L-R) Jacques Bortuzzo, President of the China-Luxembourg; Hua Ning, Chinese Ambassador to Luxembourg; Credit: Ali Sahib, Chronicle.lu

On Thursday 26 February 2026, the China-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (ChinaLux) held its Chinese New Year Gala Dinner at Cercle Cité in Luxembourg-Ville.
Over 260 people attended this gala event which commenced with a welcome drink in the Foyer Bar before attendees moved into the 480 m2 Grand Salle.

The evening's MC, Jingya Tian, ChinaLux Vice-President, explained that the Chinese New Year was also known as the Spring Festival, and that 2026 is the year of the Fire Horse.

To start the proceedings, a musical performance was dedicated to the Spring Festival, with four pieces of music covering a mix of Chinese and European music performed by a duo from Paris on violin, accompanied by a singer who even sang an excerpt from the Italian opera Tosca, by Puccini.

Jacques Bortuzzo, Chairman of ChinaLux, was first to speak and apologised on behalf of Luxembourg's Minister of Finance, Gilles Roth, who could not attend as originally foreseen. He explained that when celebrating, people say goodbye to the past year and welcome the new year.

He talked about the relationship between China and Luxembourg being very good, yet there is room for improvement, encouraging people to read more about China’s history and travelling more to China, adding that it mainly applies to others than attendees. He referenced China’s share of the world GDP in 1800 was 34%; added to India's 16%, together they were half of the world's GDP. Asia was leading the world then. He asked what we know about the last emperors, about Chairman Mao and Chiang Kai-shek - "If we don’t, we cannot understand Taiwan" he stated. He went on to ask do we know about the cultural revolution, about Deng Xiaoping? "If we don’t, we cannot understand China’s technological progress". He did concede that while we do not have to go back 5,000 years, "we should go back 250 years".

On travelling more to China, he explained "this goes beyond Beijing and Shanghai" as there are countless cities in China that are (a) huge, (b) developed, (c) clean and (d) safe. Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing and of course Zhengzhou for Luxembourg (direct flights into Henan). He talked up beautiful nature, delicious food and advanced technology in China. "If we combine reading about China and travelling to China, we will understand China and the world much better. We will get different perspectives and we will be able to form our own and proper opinion about China and the world".

He concluded by talking about Deng Xiaoping opening China for foreign investment in the 1980s, encouraging America and Europe to invest in China. China caught up technologically. Now the situation is changing, as America and Europe are lagging behind from a technological perspective.

Deputy Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, started his address by wishing everyone a Happy Chinese New Year in Mandarin. He recalled the visit with Minister Lex Delles to Beijing and Shanghai with a trade delegation in 2025, and mentioned that he plans to travel to Shenzhen later in 2026. He recalled discussions with Chinese representatives, as well as being a member of the (UN) Security Council.

He talked about big countries having responsibilities, including both America and China in the context of Ukraine. He advocated dialogue and hopes that China will be “on the right side of history”.

The Chinese Ambassador to Luxembourg, Hua Ning, also spoke in English and acknowledged that China is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council. He welcomed Luxembourg delegations visiting China and mentioned that the German Chancellor is currently visiting China and mentioned the advances in robotics as an example.

He said that the success of a year starts in the spring, and noted many countries are currently diversifying interests, with many European leaders visiting China for a variety of reasons and across different industries. He advocated partnering with China means finding a stable partner. He said that China is becoming a global leader in many areas, including in 6G and AI, as well as autonomous driving, talking up technological innovation.

On Europe denying access to Chinese technology, he said this is not fair, not transparent. He said that China is patient to improve competitiveness of Chinese and European companies on a global level. He called for equal treatment for all companies.

The gala evening continued with a meal served to the tables, with ample time for networking.