The Honourable Mr.Sumit Mullick, Additional Chief Secretary, Chief Protocol Officer of Maharashtra state government,
Distinguished Consul Generals and guests,
Ladies and gentlemen, my dear friends and my fellow Chinese compatriots:
Good evening to all of you!
On behalf of the Chinese Consulate Generalin Mumbai, and on behalf of myself and my wife, please allow me to welcome and thank you all for sharing with us the joy that we experience while celebrating the 66th anniversary of the People's Republic of China!
(May I also offer special thanks to the NCPA for generously allowing us to use this most magnificent venue for this great function tonight. And, last, but not the least, I would like to thank all our friends who have provided us with such a high level of service.)
It's the 66th anniversary of new China! Today's China has become a democratic, progressive, and prosperous country. In the year of 2015, China is moving forward to a better future.
Economically, China is still one of the few"bright spots" in the whole world.
Of course, we have heard many dire predictions about the Chinese economy – some said that there will be a "hard landing", some warned that the Chinese economy will make the world economy slide into recession. On the contrary, the steady and rapid growth is the basic situation of China's economy. In the first half of this year, China's GDP growth is still about 7 percent, the consumer price index (CPI) increased by 1.3 percent.
I therefore do not agree with these dire forecasts. Instead, I would like to focus on its remarkable successes.
First, a 7% GDP growth rate is still among the fastest among the world's major economies; almost the same as in India. Both countries are envied by the whole world.
Second, a lower but a proper growth rate is the stated objective of the Chinese government. The rapid growth over the past 30 years did generate some problems, such as the widening wealth gap, inflated real estate prices, shortage of energy resources, ecological damage etc. They can be avoided if the growth rates are a bit more steady.
And third, a 7% GDP growth rate allows China to not only create enough wealth and employment opportunities, but also helps it to optimize the industrial structure, change the mode of development, improve the allocation of resources and finally to achieve an inclusive, healthy and sustainable development.
A high growth rate alone is relatively easy to achieve, but to resolve other attendant problems at the same time can be much more difficult. The Chinese government courageously chose the latter.
This year is also important for China and the world from a political perspective. It is the 70th anniversary for theworld to celebratethe victory against fascism. The Chinese government and its people held grand military parades which have drawn the world attention.
The Chinese government unswervingly pursues an independent and peaceful foreign policy, committed to build a harmonious world. China steadily develops friendly and mutually beneficial relationships with its neighbouring countries, and has become the largest trading partner with a majority of its neighbours.
China firmly pursues a neighbourhood policy of "neighbours as partners", attaching great importance to developing friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation with neighbouring countries. In fact, a peaceful and stable external environment over the past 30 years is an essential element in China's social and economic development.
The more the development to be achieved, the more must be the stable regional environment and a peaceful international environment. At the same time, China will firmly safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Ladies and gentlemen,
This June, the Chairman of Chinese National People's Congress, Zhang Dejing visited India. It was a great success especially in Mumbai, Chairman Zhang Dejiang met all the leaders of Maharashtra – that included His Excellency, Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, His Excellency, Governor Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao, in addition to other worthies like the Speaker and other representatives of the government. The friendly and fruitful meetings between the two sides contribute furfure for the peaceful and prosperous partnership between China and India.
The high level official visit is only a part of China-India good relations. China is India's largest trading partner and India is China's largest trading partner in South Asia.
Chinese telecommunications equipment providers -- Huawei and ZTE Corporation -- contribute significantly to the growth of the Indian telecom markets, by greatly reducing communication costs of mobile phone users in India. In Pune, the Haier Group will expand production capacity, creates more employment opportunities. Moreover, other companies from China – like Taiyuan Heavy Industry, Ali Baba, Vanke and others – also plan establishing their presence in Maharashtra.
China Shandong Electric Power Construction Corporation, Shanghai Electric and Harbin Electric Company provide power generation equipment and help the construction of Indian power plants, and accounted for 10% of the total installed capacity of India. Sani Heavy machinery manufacturers (in Pune factories) and Zoom lion India (registered in Mumbai) contributed to the improvement of India's infrastructure. China has moved closer to the people of Mumbai because this city's metro trains have been made in China and are now running as Mumbai Metro.
This year is also the "China Tourism Year". That is one more reason why, in India, bilateral cultural exchanges and friendshipwill be greatly promoted. Tonight's performance is a good example. They draw our attention to two premier cities -- Dunhuang City in China and Aurangabad city in Maharashtra – which have become sister cities.
The Mogao caves in Dunhuang and Ajanta and Ellora caves in Aurangabad are both art treasures, sacred to Buddhism, which in turn belongs to the same strain in history.
Tonight, the performing group is just from Dunhuang. Two thousand years ago, two Indian monks named Matanga, and Zhu Falan were invited to China by the Emperor Ming in Han dynasty. They brought there lots of Sanskrit scriptures drawn by two white horses, and got them translated into Chinese. The emperor built a temple to commemorate this event, which is the most famous White Horse Temple.
China's Fa Xian and Xuan Zang, well-known scholars in China, also passed on Chinese wisdom to India. They brought back lots of Sanskrit scriptures and books. Today, Mumbai University, following the opening of the Confucius Institute, has set up a research centre in honour of Prof. Ji Xianlin. Professor Ji Xianlin was a great Sanskrit scholar in Peking University. He spent most his life studying Sanskrit, and translated Valmiki's famous "Ramayana" (RAMAYAN) into Chinese. The Indian government had awarded him the Medal of Padma Bhushan in 2008.
Both India and China have more than five thousand years of civilisation. Together they represent more than a third of the world's population. And they have more than 3,000 kilometres of common border.
The Himalayas are not a barrier but a bridge which connects China and India. We are sons of same "mother rivers": in the north we have the Yangtze River and the Yellow River; in the south you have the Ganges and the Indus. Since 1981, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of both China and India, hundreds of thousands of Indian pilgrims visited the holy Mount and lake. The second route is through the Nathula Pass which is a major decision announced during Chairman Xi Jin ping's visit to India last September.
This September, I myself and several prominent figures of Maharashtra, reached Kailash and Mansarovar, the holy mountain and lake sacred to many religions -- Buddhism, Hinduism and Ben religions. We reached there by travelling through Chengdu, Lhasa, Ali, by air. We collected the holy water and brought it to the Nashik Kumbh Mela – which is held every 12 years. The holy waters were poured into the sacred rivers near Nashik, to symbolise how the mixing of waters could be as harmonious as the mingling of two people. We also believe that in the coming years more and more Indians will travel to Kailash and to Mansarovar.
Dear friends, cultural performances that follow this address, will be far more exciting than my words. I also need to remind you that these artists are the most prominent artists in China. And these programs are also award-winners in my country. I hope you will like what you will not witness.
Once again thank you all for coming to China National Day reception!