On 4 November，Minister Yang Xiaoguang of the Chinese Embassy in the UK attended a special concert by the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the ambassadorial diplomatic relations between China and the UK.

Before the status of the concert, Minister Yang had a conversation with Dr Catherine Hogel, the new Chairman of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, David Burke, Chief Executive of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and David Buckley, Chairman of the Yehudi Menuhin School. Both sides agreed that the special concert, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the UK, embodies the positive result of the cooperation between the two countries in the field of culture. With the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China successfully held not long ago, China and the UK are standing at a new historical starting point. The two countries should continue to deepen exchanges and cooperation in the field of music and arts, and promote mutual learning between Chinese and British culture and the stable development of the bilateral ties.

Guests invited by the Chinese Embassy to the concert included Linda Davies, Chairman of KT Wong Foundation, Cameron Taylor, Senior External Relations Officer of the Government of Jersey London Office, and violinist Hu Kun. Representatives of China National Tourist Office in London, the partner organization of the concert, participated in the event at invitation. Minister Counsellor of Cultural Affairs Li Liyan of the Embassy also attended the event.

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This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the UK at the ambassadorial level. The world-renowned London Philharmonic Orchestra, which paid visit to China in as early as 1973, and has all along attached great importance to cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and the UK, organized this concert with elaborate efforts to mark the 50th Anniversary of the ambassadorial relations between the two countries. The concert opened with Momentum, an orchestral work by Chinese-born composer Madam Chen Yi, which won the Charles Ives Living Award. It was warmly received by the audience for its rich Chinese cultural and musical elements.