Your Excellency Under-Secretary-General Movses Abelian,

Your Excellency Under-Secretary-General Melissa Fleming,

Your Excellency Under-Secretary-General Atul Khare,

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends,

Good afternoon!

It gives me great pleasure to join you all here at the UN Headquarters, celebrating the 17th United Nations Chinese Language Day. This event is co-hosted by the Permanent Mission of China to the UN and China Media Group, with the strong support of the UN Secretariat. I would like to thank all of you for joining us here in April, as you do every year, to celebrate the Chinese Language Day in spring, a season of vitality and renewal. Allow me to take this opportunity to share with you a few of my thoughts on the Chinese language.

The Chinese language is a gift that transcends time and space. In 1945, Chinese representatives became the first to solemnly sign the Charter of the United Nations with a brush pen, leaving a bold and distinctive mark in the chapter of world history in Chinese. This year witnesses the 55th anniversary of the restoration of the People's Republic of China's lawful seat at the UN. As one of the six official languages, Chinese has faithfully documented the development of the UN and the history of cooperation between China and this Organization, conveying to the world the ideals and actions of multilateralism. This year also marks the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Chinese Translation Service of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management. Over the past eight decades, generations of Chinese language professionals, through words, written and spoken, have made indelible contributions to serving the mission of the UN and promoting multilateral dialogue.

The Chinese language is an envoy that links us across mountains and oceans. For a long time, the international community has come to know and understand China through the Chinese language. We are delighted to see the greater popularity of learning Chinese and growing interest in Chinese Studies. This fascination has continued to gain momentum in recent years, with experiencing the Chinese lifestyle and taking a spontaneous trip to China becoming the “it” thing to do. On social media, “becoming Chinese” is trending, transforming “China” from the name of an ancient country in the east into an expression associated with vibrancy. For this year's Chinese Language Day celebration, we received creative short videos from Chinese language enthusiasts around the world, sharing their “Chinese moments”. In these videos, friends from various countries speak Chinese, sing Chinese songs, cook Chinese dishes, and explore Chinese cities, immersing themselves in authentic traditional Chinese culture. On their faces, different in skin tone yet equally radiant with smiles, we see the enduring hope of friendship that continues to flourish.

The Chinese language serves as a bond for mutual learning among civilizations. As a vehicle, language carries a civilization. And the Chinese language acts as a bridge, guiding people into the depths of the Chinese civilization. When exploring the Chinese language, one encounters not only Chinese characters and grammar, but even more importantly, the philosophy of life embedded within them. Faced with a world fraught with turmoil and change, we must uphold the noble ideal of “global unity”, adhere to the sustainable development concept of “living in harmony with nature”, and promote the broad-minded wisdom that “all things grow together without harming one another”. The UN attaches great importance to multilingualism and advocates respect for the diversity of civilizations. Our gathering here today to celebrate the Chinese Language Day is a vivid testimony of putting the Global Civilization Initiative into practice, promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, and building a world where different civilizations flourish together.

Dear Friends,

Technology is reshaping the exchange of language and culture in ways never seen before. With the advent of the AI era, language barriers will continue to be removed, allowing more diverse voices to be heard and understood and fostering a more spontaneous and profound harmony among different cultures. This is precisely the scenario envisaged by the theme of this event: “Chinese Language, Shining Civilizations”. We look to language as a medium and as a bridge to engage in communications and exchanges, thus allowing countries around the world and the UN to join hands in telling more beautiful stories and composing more brilliant chapters on our shared journey.

Before I conclude, I would like to wish this year's Chinese Language Day celebration a complete success! We welcome friends to travel to our country to see and feel for themselves China's authenticity, openness, and progress.

Thank you.