A reception was held on July 27 in Wellington by the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand to celebrate the 99th Anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. About 200 people attended the reception, including H.E. Dr. Wang Xiaolong, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to New Zealand, the Cook Islands and Niue, Brigadier Andrew Shaw, Assistant Chief Strategic Commitments and Engagements and Greg O’Connor, the Second Assistant Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, other representatives from NZDF and Ministries, and members of the Diplomatic Corps, Defence Attaché and Advisor Corps, Friendship Groups and overseas Chinese.
In his address, Senior Colonel Zhao Quan, the Chinese Defence Attaché, stated that China firmly follows the path of peaceful development. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Strengthening the Military, the Chinese military will accelerate its modernization drive and strive to build a world-class military, so as to more effectively safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests. China is also willing to work with the New Zealand Defence Force to implement the Global Development Initiative (GDI)，the Global Security Initiative (GSI)，the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI), the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) and jointly safeguard global and regional security and stability.
Brigadier Andrew Shaw highly affirmed the importance of China-New Zealand relations and the achievements of the Chinese military in its development. He also highly praised the Chinese military’s important role in international and regional security affairs and its outstanding contributions to UN peacekeeping operations. He stated that the two militaries will continue to engage in candid communication through bilateral military exchange mechanisms, so as to contribute to the development of China-New Zealand relations.
A photo exhibition titled “Chinese People’s Liberation Army: Safeguarding World Peace” was shown at the scene. The atmosphere was friendly and warm.