1793 On August 6th, a grand state ceremony was held in the Guangming Hall of Zheng Da in Yuanmingyuan in the western suburbs of Beijing. Magalny, a tribute ambassador from the British Empire, presented 19 pieces of gifts from King George III of England to the Qing Emperor, including an astronomical geography music clock, an astronomical telescope, a global map of the earth, a meteorological sounding frame, cars, gold and silver models of British warships, glass lanterns inlaid with gold, carpets woven with gold thread, oil paintings by members of the British royal family and other exquisite handicrafts. Later, according to China's ancient etiquette tradition, Emperor Qianlong returned gifts, including his collection of calligraphy and painting, exquisite jade, brocade, porcelain, carved lacquer, snuff bottles, Four Treasures of the Study, various folding fans, lanterns, fragrant tea, dried cantaloupe, lotus root starch, sugar lotus seeds and other specialties.

For thousands of years, it is not surprising that similar national gifts have been common in foreign exchanges of various countries. As an emissary of friendly communication between different cultures, national ceremony shuttles between countries, nations and races, transferring the essence of national civilization and art to another cultural environment, and contains extremely rich valuable information conducive to civilization and progress. National ceremony is the product of diplomacy, and diplomacy is the product of civilization. True diplomacy will only come into being when there are countries and relations between countries. With the occurrence and development of international exchanges, there have also been gifts between countries, and the gift of national gifts is an integral part of diplomatic etiquette.

The gift custom supported by the advanced civilization concept has become the spiritual symbol of human pursuit of peace, respect, understanding and communication. Looking at the foreign gifts accepted in China's diplomatic exchanges for half a century, we can find that the oriental gifts are extremely elegant and subtle, and most of them imply auspiciousness. At the same time, Asia is the birthplace of the three major religions in the world, and the number of people who believe in Buddhism, Islam and Hinduism ranks first in the world, which determines that the diplomatic gifts of many countries are full of religious colors. The unique geographical conditions and cultural traditions make the gifts of African countries have a rough, simple and natural charm. Gifts in European countries are mostly based on art, highlighting commemorative and cultural symbolic significance, and the forms tend to be simpler and clearer. American diplomatic gifts have different styles. Highly developed modern civilization and secret ancient civilization are intertwined, and what a long historical time is hidden behind cultural relics. Diplomatic gifts in Oceania Island show unique ecological environment, rare birds and animals and exotic plants, or reflect unique gift customs.

In international communication, it is customary to choose China's traditional craft treasures as gifts, which not only publicizes the nation's outstanding cultural achievements, but also promotes international cultural exchanges. It is the common aspiration of people all over the world to let different cultures communicate freely across the barriers of time, space and history. In modern international communication, the national gift abandons the pure material utility of the original gift, emphasizes the cultural symbolic meaning more, and retains the rich cultural heritage of the traditional gift, so it is more attractive and intriguing. The mutual blending of cultures of different countries is unique in the national ceremony. The melody of peace and friendship flutters forever in the process of cultural exchange, writing a new chapter in the history of friendly exchanges between countries.

For more than half a century, People's Republic of China (PRC)'s leaders accepted precious state gifts, showed people the brilliant achievements of China's independent diplomatic line, and publicized the outstanding contributions of the three generations of leaders of the Party and the country to the diplomatic cause of the new China. Stepping into a mature country, after several generations of efforts, the overall appearance has undergone earth-shaking changes and is playing an increasingly important role in the international arena. Since the founding of New China, diplomacy has completely broken away from the humiliating diplomacy of the old China, created a distinct independent and peaceful diplomatic line, defended the independence, sovereignty, security and dignity of the new China, won wide support and many friends, and enabled the youth and the country to stand in the east of the world with great vitality. In the past 20 years of reform and opening up, the nation has been revitalized and its national strength has been enhanced. China's diplomacy has made even more remarkable achievements. China's international status has never been higher, and the international environment has improved significantly. The soaring dragon has made great efforts and due contributions to the cause of world peace and human progress.

In the increasingly frequent international exchanges with countries around the world, the fruitful diplomatic practice of three generations of leaders of our party and country has won the respect of the people of the world. The leaders and friendly people of many countries expressed their friendly feelings towards the leaders of China and the people of China with colorful and varied national gifts, which reflected the good wishes of people all over the world for peace. These gifts are closely related to important people and important events. Some of them are unique witnesses of world-famous summits, some are from foreign artists, and some are extremely precious fossils and specimens. Therefore, they have high historical, artistic and scientific value, and contain special commemorative symbolic significance. As primitive objects in the modern history of friendly exchanges between China and foreign countries, they recorded the glorious course of new China's diplomatic career.