On March 16, 2022, the newly-appointed Chinese Ambassador to Iceland He Rulong presented his credentials to the Icelandic President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson at the Presidential Residence at Bessastaðir. The two sides had a cordial and friendly conversation on bilateral relations and international affairs.

Ambassador He Rulong first conveyed the cordial greetings and best wishes from President Xi Jinping to President Jóhannesson. He said that, since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Iceland 50 years ago, the two sides have, on the basis of the principle of equality and mutual respect, continuously consolidated the political mutual trust and witnessed fruitful outcomes in pragmatic cooperation across a wide range of areas. The traditional friendship between the two peoples has also been deepened. Last year, China and Iceland jointly celebrated the golden jubilee of the establishment of diplomatic relations. As the newly-appointed Chinese Ambassador to Iceland, I look forward to working with the Icelandic people from all walks of life to promote China-Iceland friendly relations as well as cooperation in various fields for further development.

President Jóhannesson warmly welcomed Ambassador He Rulong to his new post, and asked Ambassador He to convey his warm greetings to President Xi Jinping. The President said that although China and Iceland are geographically far apart from each other and have so many differences, China-Iceland relations have maintained a sound and sustained development. He hoped the two sides could strengthen the exchanges and cooperation in the fields of economy and trade, tourism, geothermal, climate change, sustainable development for the benefit of the two countries and two peoples.

President Jóhannesson also held a reception for Ambassador He, which was attended by Secretary-General of the Office of the President of Iceland Sif Gunnarsdóttir, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs Martin Eyjólfsson, Icelandic friends from different walks of life and representatives of overseas Chinese in Iceland.

Ambassador He Rulong arrived in Iceland on February 26. On this morning before presenting his credentials, Ambassador He handed over the copy of the credentials to Ambassador Estrid Brekkan, Chief of Protocol of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.