On February 14, Chinese Ambassador H.E. Ms. Wang Wenli attended the 2026 Chinese New Year Gala hosted by the Associação Comercial da Comunidade Chinesa Timor Oan (ACCCTO) and delivered a speech.  The President of National Parliament of Timor-Leste, H.E. Ms. Maria Fernanda Lay, Vice-Prime Minister and Minister Coordinator for Economic Affairs and Minister of Tourism and Environment, H.E. Mr. Francisco Kalbuadi Lay, Minister of Justice, H.E. Mr. Sérgio de Jesus Fernandes da Costa Hornai, President of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Timor-Leste (CCI-TL), Mr. Jorge Manuel de Araújo Serrano, and nearly 200 representatives of the Chinese community in Timor-Leste attended the event.

Ambassador Wang extended warm New Year greetings to the Chinese community in Timor-Leste and to friends from various sectors who have long supported China-Timor-Leste friendship, highly commending the ACCCTO for its longstanding efforts in uniting and serving the Chinese community, promoting Chinese culture, and contributing to bilateral friendship. She noted that this year is the inaugural year of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan and Timor-Leste’s full membership in ASEAN, ushering in important new opportunities for the development of bilateral relations and broad prospects for practical cooperation. She expressed hope that the ACCCTO and the Chinese community would continue to serve as a bridge, further integrate into local society, and contribute to deepening practical cooperation and enhancing people-to-people ties between the two countries.