Paper-cut presented to the President of Botswana Mokgweetsi Masisi as a gift. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

President of Botswana Mokgweetsi Masisi praised the paper-cut by Liu Jing, an artisan in Nantong, Jiangsu province, during the recent 2024 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

President Masisi underscored the significance of handicrafts as exemplars of fine artistry and as emblems of profound amity and cultural interchange between the peoples of China and Botswana.

Through the Botswana-China Friendship Association, Liu presented her work to President Masisi as a gift to showcase the friendship between China and Botswana and to deepen the sister-city relations between Nantong and Botswana's capital – Gaborone.

Nantong artisan Liu Jing and her paper-cut work. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

In August, Liu was invited by Nan Gengxu, chairman of the Botswana-China Friendship Association, to create a paper-cut work with regional characteristics and cultural connotations.

Botswana is renowned as the country of cattle. The artisan explained that her work portrays the group photo of the President of Botswana and cattle, signifying the important status of farming in the country, and a monkey bread tree grown from the horns and tail of the cattle, implying the fruitful results from the two countries' collaboration in various fields.

In 1975, China and Botswana established diplomatic relations. In recent years, the two countries' collaboration has entered a new stage with China's enhanced support of the African country in infrastructure and skill training.

In 2008, Nantong and Gaborone forged a sister-city relationship, and since then, they have carried out extensive exchanges and cooperation in economy, trade, culture, and resource development.