On September 25, 2026, H.E. Mme. Ambassador Jiang Xiaoyan visited Kočani to attend Kočani Academy’s monthly quiz featuring China. Jovan Shopovski, founder of the Academy, and nearly 100 local residents attended the event.

Ambassador Jiang noted that Kočani is North Macedonia’s leading rice-producing region and that its high-quality rice has become one of the country’s distinctive signature product. China is one of the earliest countries in the world to cultivate rice, and rice farming has been an integral part of Chinese civilization throughout its history. Rice embodies the shared aspirations of the Chinese and Macedonian peoples for a better life and has also become an important link between Kočani and Wuxi, which have maintained exchanges in various fields, since they signed the memorandum on friendly relations10 years ago.

Ambassador Jiang expressed the hope that the quiz would help deepen mutual understanding, and that the two sides would continue to sow and cultivate the seeds of friendship so that it will yield an abundant harvest year after year and bring greater benefits to the two peoples.