On January 8, H.E. Dr. Yue Xiaoyong, Chinese Ambassador to Ireland, together with Cllr. Nail Ring, Lord Mayor of Dublin, attended the launching ceremony of the 2019 Dublin Chinese New Year Festival (DCNYF), which celebrates the Year of the Pig.

Ambassador Yue and the Lord Mayor expressed their New Year greetings and wished a great success for this year's celebrations. Ambassador Yue highly appreciated the supports from Dublin City Council and the Chinese New Year Celebration Organization Committee. Both agreed to make joint efforts in 2019 to promote the relationship between Beijing and Dublin.

After the photo launch, Ambassador Yue was interviewed by the Irish Times, RTÉ and FM Q102. In the interview, Ambassador Yue extended his Chinese New Year greetings to the Chinese community and friends in Ireland. Ambassador Yue expects to work with the Irish side in a deeper and bigger way to promote greater development in 2019, which marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relationship between Ireland and China.