28 September, 2022
Dear Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Welcome to the first online reception celebrating China National Day hosted by the Chinese Consulate General in Perth. I am Acting Consul General Wang Fengzhong. Now is springtime, the most hopeful season of the year. As brilliant flowers bloom across Western Australia, the People’s Republic of China is to celebrate her 73rd birthday on this Saturday October 1.
On behalf of the Chinese Consulate General in Perth, I wish our great People’s Republic happy birthday and ever-lasting prosperity. I’d like to express my heartfelt thanks to our friends from all walks of life in Western Australia who have long been caring for and supporting China’s development and China-Australia friendly relations. I’d also like to extend my sincere greetings and best wishes to the overseas Chinese，Chinese-funded institutions and Chinese students in Western Australia.
73 years are but a fleeting moment in human history. But for the Chinese people and the Chinese nation, these have been 73 years of epoch-making changes. Under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Chinese nation has made great leaps from standing up and growing prosperous to becoming strong, and has come to embrace the brilliant prospect of national rejuvenation.
Last year we celebrated the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China . Ever since its founding in 1921, the CPC has remained true to its original aspiration and mission of seeking happiness for the Chinese people and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Between 1921 and 1949, the CPC united and led the Chinese people in fighting bloody battles with unyielding determination, shattered the three mountains of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism and founded the People’s Republic of China, which secured national independence and liberation, and made the people masters of the country.
After the founding of the new China, through vigorous and determined endeavor, the CPC has united and led the Chinese people in transforming China from a poor and backward agrarian country into the world’s second largest economy, the biggest trader of goods, the second biggest trader of services and the largest holder of foreign exchange reserves. China is also the world’s largest manufacturer, the second biggest spender on industrial research and development and the biggest contributor to global economic growth, with over 30 per cent contribution annually. China’s GDP per capita has grown from merely 20 US dollars in 1952 to over 12,500 US dollars in 2021, exceeding the 10,000 U.S. dollars benchmark for 3 consecutive years.
Since China began to adopt the opening up and reform policy in 1978, nearly 850 million Chinese people have been lifted out of poverty, which is close to three quarters of the global total. We have realized the First Centenary Goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, brought about a historic resolution to the problem of absolute poverty in China, and achieved the poverty reduction target laid out in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ten years ahead of schedule. We are now marching in confident strides towards the Second Centenary Goal of building a great modern socialist country in all respects.
Since its founding 73 years ago, the People’s Republic of China has gone through remarkable transformation from an outsider of the international system to a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development，a keeper of international order, a provider of public goods, and a mediator of hotspot issues. As the world’s largest developing country, China is the second largest contributor to the UN regular budget and peacekeeping assessments. China is also the top contributor of peacekeepers among the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council.
As a responsible major country, China aims to reach peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, and is leading the world in renewable energy production and investment. China has the world’s biggest installed capacity of hydroelectric, wind and solar power, and its nuclear power facility in development ranks first in the world. China has set a goal of ensuring a third of its power comes from renewable energy sources by 2025.
After the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, China proposed the vision of a global community of health for all. China is among the first to promise making COVID-19 vaccines a global public good and to support waiving intellectual property rights on the vaccines. China has supplied over 2.2 billion doses of vaccines to more than 120 countries and international organizations.
Dear Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Since ancient times, Taiwan has been an inalienable part of China’s territory. China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity has never been severed and the fact that the mainland and Taiwan belong to one and the same China has never changed. All of us Chinese have never ceased our efforts to realize China’s reunification.
The one-China principle has become a basic norm in international relations and a general consensus of the international community. By firmly upholding the one-China principle, China is not only upholding its sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also truly safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and non-interference in others’ internal affairs, a basic norm of international relations that is of vital importance to the large number of developing countries.
China will continue to endeavor to achieve peaceful reunification with the greatest sincerity and greatest efforts. However, we must combat “Taiwan independence” separatist activities with the firmest resolve and take the most forceful steps to repulse interference by external groups. Any scheme to interfere in China’s internal affairs is bound to meet the strong opposition of all us Chinese, and any move to obstruct China’s cause of reunification is bound to be crushed by the wheels of history. I am convinced that more and more friends from Western Australia will support our goal of complete national reunification.
Dear Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen,
China is fully implementing a new development philosophy featuring innovative, coordinated, green and open development for all, and it is pursuing high-quality development and fostering a new development paradigm. This year, facing a complex and challenging development environment both at home and abroad, 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 and provide more market opportunities for Australia and other countries. In the first half of 2022, Chinese GDP expanded by 2.5%, the country’s value-added industrial output went up 3.4 percent year on year, and the high-tech manufacturing sector stood out with a year-on-year growth of 9.6 percent, 6.2 percentage points higher than the overall industrial output growth, becoming key driver of high quality development.
Next month, the Communist Party of China will convene its 20th National Congress, which will be an important meeting to be held at a critical time as China embarks on a new journey toward its second centenary goal of building a modern socialist country in all respects. At this national congress, the CPC will formulate programs of action and overarching policies to meet China’s new development goals on the journey ahead in the new era and the new expectations of the people. We will continue to follow the Chinese path to modernization to achieve the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and we will continue to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. By doing so, we will create new opportunities for the world with new advances in China’s development and contribute our vision and strength to world peace and development and human progress.
Dear friends, Ladies and Gentlemen,
This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia. Over the past 5 decades, China-Australia practical cooperation across the board has maintained a momentum of rapid growth. Today, China is Australia’s largest trading partner, largest source of international students and tourists, and an important source of investment. And for China, Australia is also a critical trading partner and important source of investment.
China is committed to building a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Australia. By comprehensive, it means our cooperation extends far beyond economic and trade fields and includes all other possible fields. By strategic, it means our relationship carries regional even global significance. And partnership means we are friends rather than foes. China is actively committed to developing friendly and cooperative relations with Australia in various fields and at all levels. This policy remains unchanged.
China and Western Australia have very close trade and investment ties as well as people-to-people and cultural exchanges. Western Australia has always been the pacesetter of developing friendship and practical cooperation with China. I arrived in Perth to assume office late last year, and the more I get to know about the multicultural society and the landscape of Western Australia, the more I fall in love with this beautiful and vibrant place.
I have met and spoken with Western Australians from various walks of life. The shared belief and aspiration among all of us is that China and Australia have every reason and are fully able to maintain a long lasting friendly and mutually beneficial relationship, and our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership can withstand various tests and grow from strength to strength.
We earnestly hope that the overseas Chinese，Chinese-funded institutions and Chinese students in Western Australia as well as friends from all walks of life in WA will continue to contribute to friendly cooperation between China and WA and play a better role in bringing China-Australia relationship back on the right track. The Chinese Consulate General in Perth will, as always, act on our commitment and work all out to serve the Chinese nationals and Chinese-funded institutions in WA wholeheartedly.
Finally, May China become even more prosperous and stronger and the people much happier! May the China-Australia friendship grow stronger and practical cooperation bear more fruits! May our two countries, our region and the world at large enjoy a better future !
Thank you!