Remarks at National Day Reception

29 September 2014

 

Excellencies,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Tonight, we are gathered here to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. I wish to extend, on behalf of the Chinese Embassy, a warm welcome to you all.

In 1949, with the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese people ended their country's modern history of foreign invasion and humiliation, and won national liberation and independence. Over the past 65 years, particularly the 30-plus years since the launch of reform and opening-up, tremendous changes have taken place in China. The people's lives have improved, overall national strength has grown and China's international standing has been on the rise.

Now the Chinese people are working devotedly towards the "two centenary goals", namely, to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society by 2020 and to build China into a modern socialist country that is strong, prosperous, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious by the middle of this century. This is what the Chinese Dream is about. And a strong country, a revitalized nation and a happy life for its people is what China desires and pursues.

We fully recognize that we need to work long and hard before we can achieve modernization in such a large country with 1.3 billion people facing uneven regional and urban-rural development. Yet we are confident that with the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, with the guidance of the theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and with the 1.3 billion Chinese people working together with one heart and one mind, we will attain our goals. We also believe that China's development will bring other countries broader space for development and cooperation.

China cannot develop itself without a friendly neighborhood and a peaceful international environment. Hence, China has taken the strategic decision of pursuing peaceful development. This is in keeping with China's own cultural values and fundamental interests. It is also a decision that accords with the trend of our time.

Some fear that China may seek expansion or even colonialism once it becomes strong. Such worries are unnecessary and unfounded. The Chinese nation is a peace-loving nation. It is a nation that believes in the Confucius' philosophy that "One must not do unto others what one would not like others to do unto him". The Chinese government champions and lives by the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. We believe that people of all countries should have the right to choose their own paths of development and that regional and international disputes should be resolved through peaceful means. China will assume greater international responsibilities and obligations, and will work with all other countries to uphold justice in regional and global affairs.

China has been an active player in advancing peace in the Middle East. We stand for a fair, reasonable and durable solution to the Middle East issue and we hope to see peace, stability and development in this region.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Exchanges between China and Lebanon date back to antiquity and our two peoples enjoy a profound friendship. As early as 2,000 years ago, the ancient Silk Road had connected our two countries.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1971, China has given high importance to its relations with Lebanon and made committed efforts to strengthen this bilateral relationship. In recent years, our relations have grown stronger and our cooperation in a wide range of fields has been highly productive.

We respect each other, we treat each other with sincerity, and we give each other understanding, trust and support on issues involving our respective core interests and major concerns. Last June, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil led the Lebanese delegation to the Sixth Ministerial Meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in Beijing and contributed to the success of the meeting. His visit also gave a strong boost to China-Lebanon relations.

China supports the work of UNIFIL and Chinese peacekeeping personnel in UNIFIL have worked hard for peace and stability in the mission area.

The growing business ties between our two countries have brought us mutual benefits. Last year, our trade exceeded 2.3 billion US dollars, and China was Lebanon's top trading partner. China has done what it can to extend assistance to Lebanon and helped Lebanon train personnel of various professions in support of its economic and social development.

Close cultural exchanges have deepened the mutual understanding and friendship between our peoples. The recent visit by Cultural Minister Raymond Araiji to China further strengthened our cultural ties. The Confucius Institute, established in collaboration with St. Joseph University, has been running well. While teaching local people the Chinese language, the Institute also plays a role in helping the Lebanese people know more about the Chinese culture. And just a few days ago, China sent another language teacher to the Lebanese University. We have also seen good progress in the our government-funded student exchange program.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Both China and Lebanon are at an important stage of development, and we both face the pressing task of growing the economy and improving people's lives. This common task has brought China and Lebanon, as well as all countries in the Middle East, closely together.

China pursues a win-win strategy of opening-up and believes that the fruits of globalized development should be shared by all. In this context, we have put forward the initiative of building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

The purpose is to enhance China's cooperation with relevant countries in infrastructure, resource development, and trade and investment facilitation, and push forward connectivity building in transportation, energy, telecommunication and financial services so that all countries in the region can achieve common development.

At the Ministerial Meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping set forth the goals of raising China-Arab trade to 600 billion US dollars and Chinese investment in Arab countries to above 60 billion US dollars within 10 years, and training 6,000 professionals in various fields for Arab countries in three years. This shows China's confidence and sincerity about deepening its cooperation with Arab states.

Lebanon is an important member of the big Arab family. I am confident that China's initiative will generate more opportunities for cooperation between China and Lebanon. The Chinese Embassy wants to work with people from all walks of life in Lebanon to deepen our friendship, boost pragmatic cooperation and elevate our relationship to a new high.

Thank you.