In order to increase the understanding of foreign diplomatic envoys on the poverty alleviation work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and enhance the publicity and outreach efforts of the Ministry in poverty alleviation, Vice Foreign Minister Song Tao led a delegation consisting of diplomatic envoys of some countries to attend the inauguration of “Love Knows No Borders”, a school building in Mengqiao Primary School, Yunnan’s Jinping County, the designated county for which the Ministry provides poverty alleviation assistance. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Ms. Le Aimei, Honorary Ambassador for Poverty Alleviation for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and diplomatic envoys from 13 countries including Ambassador of Mauritius and his wife, Ambassador of Serbia and his wife, Ambassador of Bulgaria, Ambassador of Greece and his wife, Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan, Ambassador of the Laos, Ambassador of Fiji, and Ambassador of Myanmar.

In September 2009, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Ms. Le Aimei, Honorary Ambassador for Poverty Alleviation for the Ministry, launched “Love Knows No Borders”, an international charity sale bazaar, to help poor areas of Yunnan develop education. The event attracted a huge number of participants, including diplomatic envoys from 73 embassies and representatives from international organizations. The event gathered 1.8-million-yuan donations from the caring communities, which was used to construct two school buildings in Yunnan, one for Mengqiao Primary School, Yunnan’s Jinping County and another one for Dahuodi Primary School, Xiajinchang Town, Yunnan’s Malipo County.

At the inauguration ceremony, Vice Foreign Minister Song thanked the envoys for their support to the poverty alleviation work of the Ministry and their contributions to the poverty-stricken regions. He said helping the poor is a universal virtue. He called on more people from the international community to join the cause of poverty reduction. He encouraged the students in Mengqiao Primary School to overcome difficulties, have high aspirations, and study hard to change the poor situation of their hometown and make contributions to the development and prosperity of their motherland. Ambassador of Greece represented the diplomatic envoys and expressed thanks to the Ministry for arranging the event, which enabled them to know more of the situation of China's poor regions. They were very happy to have the opportunity to do something for children's education in poor regions in China. He said, “Children are the future. We have a responsibility to make them better educated and have a better tomorrow.”

After the ceremony, Song Tao and diplomatic envoys visited some of the poor farmers in Xinzhai Village, Mengqiao Town.

It is the first time that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has invited diplomatic envoys to China to inspect the poverty alleviation work of the Ministry in a poverty-stricken county since the Ministry launched the poverty alleviation work. Through the inspection, the diplomatic envoys gained a deeper understanding of Yunnan and the poverty alleviation work of the Ministry. They all expressed their willingness to learn from China's experience in poverty alleviation and do something for the international poverty reduction and alleviation.