Cooperation of China and Iceland in the focus on TV station CCTV4

The Chinese state television, CCTV, aired a special program about geothermal cooperation between Iceland and China last Sunday. The cities of Reykjavik and Baoding in Hebei Province were in focus in the program, which is called City 1-on-1 and was shown on CCTV4, the international Chinese language channel of the CCTV network. CCTV4 is broadcast all over China and via satellite around the world. It is estimated that about 3 million people tune into the channel at the time of screening. The program will be aired again next weekend. The program is the result of cooperation between CCTV and the Icelandic Embassy in Beijing that includes the recording of three television programs featuring Iceland. The project was initiated last year on the 40 year Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Iceland and China. A recording crew from CCTV visited Iceland last year and produced a program about Iceland as a destination for tourism. The third program, which is now in preparation, will be about the campaign against smoking and will be aired on the International Smoke Free Day on May 31. Professor Páll Valdimarsson of Reykjavik University was a special guest of the geothermal program along with Ambassador Kristín A. Árnadóttir of Iceland. Furthermore, Mr Wang Yongxin, vice-secretary of Baoding City, Ms Li Hongying, Director of the Baoding Municipal Geothermal Administration, and Mr Ma Yufeng, Deputy Mayor of Baoding, appeared in the program. Hafnafjordur, a township in Iceland, is the sister city of Baoding. In addition, a number of Chinese geothermal experts, who have received training at the United Nations University Geothermal Training Program in Iceland, appear on the program. Among issues discussed in the program were the development of Icelandic society and how Icelanders enjoy swimming pools, thermal snow melting systems in their streets during winter etc. because of this prized resource. Special attention was given to the economic benefits accrued from geothermal utilisation and additional advantages from an environmental standpoint. The program host visited Iceland last Autumn and told stories about his visits to the Blue Lagoon, Icelandic geothermal sites and power plants. Baoding, which is in Hebei Province, is one of the few cities in China which enjoy special support from the Chinese government to become carbon free cities. Footage from greenhouses and aquaculture plants that give off produce which are difficult to achieve outside harvesting season. The construction of a geothermal public heating utility in Xiong County, which is part of Baoding Municipality, received special attention but about 85% of the inhabitants in Xiong County enjoy geothermal heating. The geothermal utility in Xiong County is a joint venture company between the Chinese oil giant Sinopec and the Icelandic geothermal company Orka Energy, the parent company of Enex China. Please click here to see the program with English subtitles. Source: Icelandic Embassy in China   Thanks to Haflidi Saevarsson of the Embassy of Iceland in Beijing for sending this in.