The European Commission's director-general responsible for transport policies, Matthias Ruete, visited Beijing on May 16 and 17 to enhance existing cooperation between EU and China. Ruete attended the 2013 China Civil Aviation Development Forum, where he held discussions with the leaders of the Civil Aviation Authority of China as well as officials at the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Transport, and the newly appointed leadership of China Railway Corporation.

Ruete ended his mission with a speech to more than 200 students at the Beijing Jiaotong University.

Austrian classical violinist Lidia Baich (above right) hosted a master class for Chinese students between the ages of 8 and 14 at the Austrian embassy open house last week. Baich played a 250-year-old violin valued at 1.5 million euro ($1.94 million).

Embassies of EU member states are hosting open-house events for young Chinese over several weeks; Malta and Denmark will open their doors in the coming week. A list of all the activities is available on the EU delegation's website (www.eu-in-china.com) and on weibo at www.weibo.com/euinchina; all events require advance online registration or invitation.

The Group of African Ambassadors Spouses visited China's Ministry of Civil Affairs last week to present a check for 120,000 yuan ($19,536), proceeds from a charity gala that launched a new African cookbook from GAAS. Club president Anne Marie Ngarambe of Rwanda says copies of the book will be for sale at the 50th anniversary celebration of the African Union, which will be at the Kempinski Hotel Beijing on May 24 and 25.

Thai Ambassador to China Wiboon Khusakul opened his residence to students from Thailand and other Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries last weekend. More than 150 university students studying in Beijing came to enjoy karaoke and live music as well as authentic Thai cuisine from the embassy's kitchen. Thailand is currently country coordinator for ASEAN-China relations, and the ambassador arranged the event to allow Thai and other ASEAN students to mingle and learn more about one another.