DIPLOMATIC POUCH >> WITH MIKE PETERS

Croatia's Ambassador Ante Simonic unleashed a feast of sound and color in Beijing this week as his country celebrated the 20th anniversary of modern Croatia and its Armed Forces Day. A Tuesday night concert by a female capella vocal group Luka wowed the invited crowd at the Chinese People's Association for Friendship With Foreign Countries. Even the gods approved: As a coda to each of the final three songs, a thunderstorm outside provided a roll of thunder to the enchanting harmonies of the 10 women.

Then came a reception at the Guocuiyuan National Treasure Park in the capital's southeast quarter. The ambassador, his wife Visnja, and the Defense Attache and his wife, Colonel Drago and Sanja Horvat, hosted a dinner, a military ceremony and a concert by Luka.

The event also featured an art exhibition by two artists close to the heart of Croatia, Simonic said. Chinese photographer Rita Zhao spent two weeks in the Adriatic nation last year, capturing the architecture, landscapes and people. Mia Kirincic, a diplomat's daughter who has spent a total of nine years in Beijing, is a recent graduate of the Central Academy of Fine Arts School of Chinese Painting and her work combines painting, photography and graphic design.

The Beijing Dance Group last week performed Haze at the National Theatre of Iceland, as part of Reykjavik Arts Festival. China's Ambassador to Iceland Su Ge hosted a reception in honor of the dancers and their Icelandic hosts.

The EU-China Year of Youth continues with two people-to-people events this summer, and the EU Delegation has invited each member state to nominate people between 18 and 35 who are based in China to participate.

The delegation's Jady Wang says a forum on sustainable development will be held in Xi'an July 4-11, and a forum on civic participation and the 2011 Universiade Youth Festival will be held in Shenzhen from Aug 9-15.

About 100 European delegates are expected to participate in each event, and most are being selected in Europe. To ensure a balanced representation of young people from across the European Union, each member state is invited to nominate separate representatives for each of the two events.

The deadline for nominees for the August event is June 30. Candidates must be between 18 and 35 years old, able to communicate in English, interested in developing projects and activities with Chinese youth and capable of encouraging activities related to the Year of Youth in their home countries. Event sponsors will cover some transportation costs from Beijing to Xi'an and Shenzhen.

The Czech embassy hosted its final art-exchange event of the spring, an exhibition of paintings by 90-year-old Chinese artist Wang Yishi. The show was titled Colorful Mood, and Wang thanked Ambassador Libor Secka for the opportunity to present his first exhibition in 10 years and also for bringing in the Prague-based brass band Budvarka to "make the mood especially colorful".

Danish Ambassador Friis Arne Petersen met this week with Zhi Shuping, Minister of China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ). The two discussed food security, agricultural technology and production efficiency. The Danish embassy said Zhi will visit Denmark later this month to meet with the Danish Minister of Food, Agriculture & Fisheries, Henrik Hegh.

Embassy news can be sent to mike.peters.cd@gmail.com