Home Meetings & Statements Events & Activities China & UN Documents About China 中文
  Home > Meetings & Statements
Remarks by Ambassador Zhang Jun at Spring Festival Reception 2020

2020-01-21 05:48

Excellencies,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good evening.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you here. Today, the Mission is lit up with your presence and happiness. My colleagues and I are so happy to gather with you to celebrate the Spring Festival, which will come in three days.

We are hosting this event to thank you, friends from the UN family, for your invaluable support to China and the Chinese Mission over the past year and offer you our best wishes for the new year.

My colleagues have worked really hard to make this event special. They have prepared traditional activities, tea ceremony, calligraphy, lantern riddles, making dumplings and candied fruits. You are most welcome to experience the joy and fun that the Spring Festival has to offer.

New year brings hope. The Spring Festival is the grandest, happiest and warmest festival for the Chinese. It embodies cultural memory of China and the Chinese people's pursuit of a better life and a better world.

New year gives a new start. As President Xi Jinping said, our goal is to meet the people's expectation for a better life. Entering the third decade of the 21st century and facing a world of both opportunities and challenges, we feel more keenly our responsibility.

We need to work together to create a peaceful international environment. The world today is not tranquil. Wars and conflicts still happen. Unilateralism, protectionism and bullying practices have intensified, dealing a heavy blow to multilateralism and the UN. We must jointly defend the UN-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law. We must adhere to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, strive to resolve disputes peacefully through dialogue and consultation, and safeguard world peace with real actions.

China will, as always, stand with the UN, remain committed to the path of peaceful development, promote peaceful settlement of disputes, oppose abuse of force in international relations, and continue to be a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of the international order. China will work even harder to safeguard multilateralism and international fairness and justice, and make greater contributions to world peace.

We need to work together to build a united and harmonious family of the world. Humankind share the same home, and the world is a global village of interdependence. Facing various challenges, should we unite or divide? Should we choose cooperation or confrontation, move forward or backward? The answer is clear: we have no choice but to strengthen cooperation to build a community of shared future for all.

China is a member of the world family. The Chinese people and people of the world have shared wishes and dreams. China has made fresh progress in its development over the past year. With its GDP approaching 100 trillion yuan, China is expected to account for more than 16% of the world economy and contribute about 30% to global growth. In the new year, China will work with the UN and its member states to build a community of shared future, promote high-quality development of the "Belt and Road", and contribute more confidence and strength to resolving global issues and building the world family.

We need to work together to deliver the vision of common development. Thanks to rapid advances of technology, the world has created unprecedented wealth. However, challenges remain, such as development imbalances, gap between the rich and the poor, ecological degradation, etc. Many people are still suffering from famine, disasters and epidemics. We still have a long way to go to achieve common development.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development reflects the trust and hope of people around the world. We must focus on the common theme of development, pursue the people-centered development philosophy, promote coordinated economic, social, and environmental development, and ensure a better future for the generations to come. China is a country that honors words with deeds. For China, the year 2020 is a milestone. We will complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and win the battle of poverty alleviation, lifting all the rural poor under the current standards out of poverty and achieving our first centenary goal. We have every reason to believe that China will enjoy better development prospects, and inject new momentum to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and bring more opportunities to the common development of all countries.

Colleagues,

Friends,

As written in a Chinese poem, "Amid the boom of firecrackers, a year comes to an end, and the spring wind brings warmth to the wine." Let's raise our glasses, to a happy year of the Rat, to your health, family happiness and every success in your endeavors.

Happy New Year, everyone! Cheers!

(Credit: Liao Pan/China News Service)

Suggest to a friend
  Print