Your Excellencies,
Fellow Ambassadors, High Commissioners,
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends,
Good evening! On this beautiful night in Abu Dhabi, we gather together to celebrate the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. This is the first Chinese National Day reception held offline in the past three years since the Covid-19 outbreak. First of all, I would like to express my sincere greetings and heartfelt thanks to all of you who honor the reception with your presence, including friends from all walks of life of the UAE, friends from other countries, and our Chinese compatriots!
This year is the Chinese Year of the Tiger, which is a symbol of bravery and strength in Chinese culture. Encountering the severe challenges facing mankind today, under the strong leadership of President Xi Jinping, the Communist Party of China has united and led the Chinese people to bravely overcome various difficulties and obstacles on the way forward, and made every effort to promote economic and social recovery and development. We have made remarkable achievements in national development and improvement of people’s living standards. We have attained the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way as scheduled, won the battle against poverty as scheduled, and historically solved the problem of absolute poverty. In the past decade, the average annual economic growth rate of China was 6.5%, and the per capita GDP in 2021 has reached US$12,500 dollars.
Since the beginning of this year, China has insisted on coordinating epidemic prevention and control as well as pursuing economic and social development. Putting the people and their lives first, China has both safeguarded the life and health of the people, and ensured overall stable performance in economic and social development to the maximum extent possible. The fundamentals of China’s economy, characterized by strong resilience, enormous potential, ample room for policy adjustment and long-term sustainability, will remain sound. This will greatly boost the stability and recovery of the world economy. China will ground the efforts in the new development stage, strive to achieve high-quality development, and develop new systems for a higher-standard open economy. We are willing to share market opportunities, investment opportunities, growth opportunities and development opportunities with the UAE and other countries in the world.
Ladies and gentlemen, friends,
It has been nearly four months since I assumed my position as Chinese ambassador to UAE. Just one week ago, I had the honor of presenting my credentials to His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates. I have already regarded this prosperous land as my second home. I am impressed by UAE’s passionate pursuit of the best, inspired by its spirit of openness and inclusiveness, and touched by the enthusiasm and hospitality of its people. Our common aspirations bind us together despite geographic distance. Over the past year, thanks to the joint efforts of both sides, China-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership has reached a new phase.
What is remarkable is that our political mutual trust has been consolidated and deepened. President Xi Jinping has maintained close communication with President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to draw up the blueprint which guides the development of China and the UAE. During the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022, the two presidents exchanged views on friendship and discussed cooperation in the Great Hall of the People, marking the very first face-to-face meeting since the Covid-19 outbreak. The exchanges and cooperation at all levels between China and UAE have become increasingly close, and the two sides have empathized with and supported each other on issues pertaining to each other’s core interests and major concerns. On the issue of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, the UAE promptly issued a statement to publicly oppose this action, took a clear stand to uphold the one-China principle, and unswervingly supported China’s efforts to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity. At the critical moment when UAE was suddenly attacked by missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthi militia, China stepped forward to fully support UAE in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and stability. The true friendship between the two sides in adversity clearly reflects the high level of China-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership.
What is admirable is that our practical cooperation has yielded fruitful achievements. China’s “Belt and Road” initiative is highly consistent with UAE’s “Projects of the 50”, and the cooperation between the two sides is getting increasingly strategic, leading and innovative. In the first half of 2022, the trade volume between China and UAE exceeded US$46 billion, which has registered a year-on-year increase of 46.4% and a new record high. China has become UAE’s largest non-oil trading partner in the world, and the UAE remained to be China’s second largest trading partner and the largest export market in the Arab region. Key projects including UAE Etihad Railway phase II, Hassyan Power Plant and Shanghai Electric Photothermal and Photovoltaics are progressing steadily. The UAE participated in 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing as the Country of Honor. The aerospace authorities of China and UAE signed a memorandum of understanding on the mission of the Rashid II lunar rover, and will have a series of space cooperation in the future. The cooperations in the fields of energy and infrastructure have continued to flourish, while those in finance, capital, new energy, artificial intelligence, modern agriculture, and digital technology are gaining momentum.
What is expected is that people-to-people and cultural exchanges are flourishing. The“Hundred Schools Project”of Chinese education has become a beautiful landmark in China-UAE cooperation, and it serves as the flagship brand of Chinese language teaching among the“Belt and Road countries. So far, the Chinese teaching program has covered 158 public schools and accommodated 54,000 students to learn Chinese. It has achieved double-leap-forward development in both quantity and quality, and has continued to set off the "Chinese learning wave" and "China boom". As the first Chinese national curriculum school established by the government, Chinese School Dubai is also the only overseas school in the world that can connect to the Chinese educational system. It has achieved great development in just two years, and has been fully affirmed by the educational departments of the two countries and received 99.5% satisfaction from the parents of students. I am honored to attend the opening ceremony of Chinese School Dubai this year. Seeing 461 children thriving under the care and guidance of 70 teachers, I feel that the friendship between China and UAE has a new generation of successors. The China Cultural Center, whose preparatory works such as site selection and registration have been completed, will become a new platform for promoting people-to-people bonds between China and UAE.
What is inspiring is that our anti-Covid-19 cooperation has showed many highlights. In the face of the raging Covid-19 virus, China and UAE stood side by side, helping and supporting each other, set a model of global solidarity in fighting against the pandemic. This year, Chinese pharmaceutical companies, including Sinopharm Group, have developed a variety of Covid-19 vaccines against Omicron variants, which have successively been approved by UAE for clinical trials. Two months ago, I solemnly presented the Chinese Government Friendship Award to Dr. Nawal Al Kaabi, who is the first UAE friend to receive this honor. Etihad Airways was the first international airline to fly directly to the three major cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou since the Covid-19 outbreak, which fully reflected the latest achievements of China and UAE in our fight against Covid-19 as well as the hardcore friendship between the two countries.
Ladies and gentlemen, friends,
The Communist Party of China will convene its 20th National Congress in October in Beijing, which has attracted worldwide attention. It will chart the course for the next phase of China’s development. China will continue to follow the Chinese path to modernization to achieve the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and it will continue to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. By doing so, it will create new opportunities for the world with new advances in its development. In the meantime, UAE has also entered the era of President Sheikh Mohamed’s leadership, and is making great efforts to create a more brilliant and splendid future in next 50 years. China-UAE relations have three major advantages: the right time, the right place and the right people, which will help to embrace a historic opportunity for rapid development. I believe that under the leadership of President Xi Jinping and President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with the joint efforts of our peoples, the China-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership will surely reach a new level, and a new chapter of the China-Arab community with a shared future will unfold forward!
Now please allow me to propose a toast: to the prosperity of our great motherlands, to the happiness and well-being of our peoples, and to the long-lasting friendship and flourishing cooperation between China and the UAE!
Thank you all！