On October 1, Ambassador He Rulong and his wife hosted a reception celebrating the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the 55th anniversary of the establishment of China-Iceland diplomatic relations. About 350 guests attended, including the Speaker of Alþingi, the President of the Supreme Court, the Permanent Secretaries of the President's Office, of the Prime Minister's Office, of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Alþingi, former President of Iceland, and representatives from various sectors.

Ambassador He said that since its founding 77 years ago, the New China has achieved remarkable development achievements that have attracted worldwide attention. This year marks the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan. China is willing to take the opening of direct flights as an opportunity to further deepen China-Iceland friendly and cooperative relations, practice the four Global Initiatives, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, continuously injecting stability and positive energy into this turbulent world.

The Speaker of Alþingi Þórunn Sveinbjarnardóttir and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs Martin Eyjólfsson said in their speeches that the Icelandic government attaches importance to developing relations with China and is willing to take the inauguration of direct flights as an opportunity to continuously deepen bilateral cooperation in trade, tourism and other fields, and encourage more Icelanders to visit China.