On 12 May 2025, Minister Zhao Fei of the Chinese Embassy in the UK attended and addressed the opening ceremony of the “Tiangong Kaiwu” exhibition during London Craft Week 2025. Over 100 guests from various sectors in China and the UK joined the event, including Guy Salter, Founder and Chairman of London Craft Week, and Qian Zhu, President of Art and Design magazine.

On behalf of Ambassador Zheng Zeguang, Minister Zhao extended congratulations on the opening of the exhibition. He noted that handicraft is an important vehicle of cultural inheritance, development, exchange and mutual learning. Both China and the UK have proud traditions of craftsmanship. Traditional Chinese crafts such as ceramics, lacquer-ware, and weaving and embroidery have been passed down for millennia and, through trade and commercial interactions, have presented the unique aesthetics of Chinese culture to the world. Over recent years, China has attached great importance to the inheritance, development, preservation and application of traditional crafts, and integrated them into various undertakings including poverty alleviation, rural revitalisation and cultural tourism to promote their creative transformation and innovative development. China-UK handicraft exchanges and cooperation are a concrete example of mutual learning between civilizations. China has participated in London Craft Week for 11 years running to promote traditional Chinese crafts to the world. China will continue to act in the spirit of the Global Civilisation Initiative and encourage more cultural dialogue in such fields as theory, practice and industry.

Chairman Salter spoke highly of the exhibition, describing it as an illustration of ingenious craftsmanship reflecting the harmonious coexistence between man and nature. He noted that China’s continued participation in London Craft Week in recent years has further demonstrated the philosophical depth of Chinese culture and its contemporary evolution.

The exhibition featured over 100 pieces of fine artwork, showcasing the carpet weaving skills of the Dulong ethnic group, the Anxi Tieguanyin tea culture, and contemporary arts and crafts designs. It highlighted the creative transformation and innovative development of China’s traditional crafts and intangible cultural heritage in the context of rural revitalisation, cultural inheritance and industrial integration.