Honorable Foreign Minister Mahuta,

Honorable Greg O'Connor, Deputy Speaker of Parliament,

Honorable Gerry Brownlee, Deputy Chair of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee of Parliament,

Other Members of Parliament,

Fellow Members of Deplomatic Corps,

Distinguished guests,

Dear Friends,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good evening. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

It gives me great pleasure to have all of you join us here this evening to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between China and New Zealand. First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to friends from all walks of life for their longstanding efforts in supporting and promoting the relations over the past 50 years.

I would also like to acknowledge the artists who brought us the wonderful concert before the Reception, which presented a combination of various well-known pieces from both China and New Zealand. Thanks to the virtuoso performance by artists from both countries, the works from different cultural backgrounds were well integrated into a harmonious whole, giving us the inspiration  that different countries can complement each other, just as well as different notes can interplay with one another to make the most beautiful of melodies. Which brings us to the theme of our event today.

Looking back on the extraordinary journey we’ve taken together over the past 50 years, we should be proud of the tremendous progress that has been made in the bilateral relations as a result of unremitting efforts on both sides across generations, bringing enormous benefits to both countries, and at the same time, making contributions to world peace and development.

Over the past 50 years, the bilateral relations have  maintained the right overall direction. In spite of the changes in the global landscape and the tremendous transformations our two countries have experienced respectively, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation have always been our common choice and the mainstream of our  relationship. The two countries have maintained close communication at various levels in all fields, with the leaders’ engagement playing an irreplaceable strategic leading role, as evidenced by the successful face-to-face meeting 10 days ago between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in the margins of APEC, their first in over three years.

The two leaders reached important consensus that sets the keynote and above all, the direction for deepening China-New Zealand relations. As President Xi noted, China regards New Zealand as an important partner and friend, and both sides need to draw inspiration from history and continue to strive to be the first so as to advance the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. This statement by President Xi is a clear demonstration of China's commitment to our relations. 

Along with the leaders’ meeting, we also look forward to an exchange of visits between the foreign ministers of the two countries in the near future, and to maintaining regular dialogues and exchanges between the heads of legislative bodies and government departments.

Over the past 50 years, the bilateral relations have witnessed tremendous growth of our economic and trade cooperation. Building on the highly complementary economic structures, and with the guidance of the two governments, the nurturing of the business communities, and the support of the public from both sides, the economic and trade links between China and New Zealand have made great strides. Our bilateral trade was a mere 7 million NZD at the start of our diplomatic relations. As a result of China's reform and opening up, and the expansion of our bilateral economic and trade cooperation, our trade reached 6.3 billion in 2008 when the FTA was signed, and has since been growing exponentially at an annual rate of more than 10% to exceed 30 billion in 2019. In 2021, the bilateral trade reached a new record of 37.7 billion NZD with a 36.4% year-on-year growth. With the entry into force of the FTA upgrade protocol, in the year till the end of September 2022, our bilateral trade in goods reached 40.1 billion NZD, representing a 15.1% growth year-on-year. We are proud that China has been New Zealand’ largest trading partner, and the largest source of imports and trade surplus for many years. Our two-way trade has delivered high-quality products and services to both of our peoples and generated tremendous job opportunities. This has not only improved economic welfare and enhanced resilience for both countries, including during Covid, but has also  contributed to the development of the overall relationship between the two countries.

Over the past 50 years, the friendship between the two peoples has been passed on from generation to generation and strengthened over time. We should all bear in mind that our relationship starts with the people and is meant to serve the people. The the long-running engagement between the two peoples dates back to 180 years ago, when the first Chinese came to the shores of the land of the long, white clouds. The gradually growing Chinese community in New Zealand, carrying from home with them the fine traditions of hard work, friendliness and wisdom, has made their unique contribution to New Zealand's diverse society and has become an important bridge of friendship between the two countries. The considerable number of Chinese tourists and students have been another important link for friendship, understanding and cooperation between the two countries. At the same time, the Chinese side will not forget the contributions made by kiwi friends to China's revolution and development, standing out among whom are Mr. Rewi Alley and Ms. Kathleen Hall,  whose life has been celebrated recently in Christchurch and Auckland. We are fortunate to be blessed by these and other unique and deep-rooted people-to-people links and exchanges, which have always been, and will continue to be an essential pillar for our relations.

Over the past 50 years, the two countries have worked together to help maintain world peace and development. We may not always agree, but what we share in common far exceed our differences. For example, both countries pursue an independent foreign policy, and support multilateralism, open regionalism, free trade and an open world economy. Both support the international system with the United Nations at its core and an international order based on international law, and committed to maintaining international and regional peace and stability and promoting common development and  prosperity. Both support international cooperation to address global challenges such as climate change, and  both support our Pacific Island partners in pursuit of sustainable development. These commonalities provide the basis for China and New Zealand to enhance communication, coordination and cooperation on international and regional affairs, as a peaceful and stable, open and inclusive world allowing for better development and prosperity for all is clearly in the common interests of both China and New Zealand.

In a nutshell, China-New Zealand relations have gone through an extraordinary journey and accumulated rich assets over the past 50 years, not only serving the people of both countries, but also contributing to the peace and development of the world. In many ways, our relationship is no less than exemplary of mutually beneficial cooperation between countries different in social system, stage of development and size of economy.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

One month ago, the Communist Party of China successfully held its 20th National Congress, which elected the new leadership of the party with General Secretary Xi Jinping at its core and laid out the overarching blueprint for China’s development in the next 5 years and beyond. The Congress reaffirmed that development remains as the country’s top priority, and projected the vision for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through the Chinese path to modernization.

In terms of foreign policy, the Congress solemnly and clearly stated that the fundamental purpose of China's foreign policy is to maintain world peace, promote common development and facilitate the building of a community of shared future for mankind. China will firmly pursue an independent foreign policy of peace, develop friendship and cooperation with all countries in the world,  and strive to build global partnerships on the basis of equality, openness and cooperation. 

As part of our strategy going forward, China will also continue to adhere to the policy of opening up, firmly pursue an open strategy of mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation, and constantly provide new opportunities for the world with China's new development. An open and steadily growing China committed to win-win cooperation is a positive force conducive to world peace and development, and will definitely bring more, bigger and better opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation and common development for China and other countries in the world, including New Zealand.

The trend of the times is inexorable and the wheels of history will never stop. Looking ahead to the next 50 years of China-New Zealand relations, we should go with the trend of the world, keep pace with the times, and strive to keep the momentum for moving our relations forward. On the part of China, we always regard New Zealand as an important comprehensive strategic partner and are full of expectations for and confidence in the future of our relations. For all the turmoils in the world, China's commitment to the partnership with New Zealand has not and will not change.

Going down the road, let us together cherish the hard-won achievements, grasp the opportunities, implement the consensus reached by our leaders and comply with the aspirations of our peoples, so as to give increasing substance to the China-New Zealand comprehensive strategic partnership.  

To this end, let us continue to strengthen exchanges across different levels and fields, expand practical cooperation, and tap the potential in new and emerging areas such as climate change, sustainable agriculture, bio-medicine, and broader science and technology innovation.

Let us continue to carry forward the Rewi Alley spirit, support closer dialogues and exchanges at sub-national levels and between members of the public, particularly the younger generation, so as to strengthen the people-to-people bonds between us. 

Let us jointly uphold multilateralism, maintain international and regional peace and stability and promote common development.

It is also important for both sides to work together to properly manage and transcend the differences between us on the basis of mutual respect, seeking common ground while accommodating differences, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation and non-interference in each other’s domestic affairs. 

In concluding, China looks forward to working with New Zealand to take our relationship to an even higher level, so as to better benefit our two peoples and make greater contribution to the world. I firmly believe that our relationship has great potential and broad prospects.

Finally, I would like to propose a toast to the achievements of China-New Zealand relations over the past 50 years, to the happiness and well-being of our two peoples, and to a brighter future for our two countries and our bilateral relations in the next 50 years and beyond!

Thank you.