By Wang Linyan in London | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2024-09-26
China’s Ambassador to the UK Zheng Zeguang makes a speech at a reception held by China’s embassy to the UK in London on Wednesday to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. [Photo provided to China Daily]
China’s embassy in the United Kingdom held a reception in London on Wednesday to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Ambassador Zheng Zeguang delivered a speech at the event, which was followed by remarks by Catherine West, the parliamentary under-secretary of state at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
More than 500 guests from many sectors of society, including diplomats, members of the Chinese community, and representatives of enterprises, attended the gathering.
In his speech, Zheng highlighted the two “phenomenal miracles” of rapid economic growth and long-term social stability that China has achieved during the past 75 years, and the “historic achievements” and “unprecedented transformation” the nation has experienced in the new era.
Details and statistics were cited to offer the audience a clear idea of the depth and scale of the achievements.
For example, on China’s composite national strength, Zheng said: “Once a poor country, China is now the world’s second-biggest economy, and the biggest manufacturer, biggest trader in goods, and the country with the biggest foreign exchange reserve.”
He added that, based on constant prices, China’s GDP in 2023 is 223 times larger than that of 1952, with an average annual growth rate at 7.9 percent.
On the contribution of China’s development to the global economy, he said: “From 1979 to 2023, China’s contribution to global economic growth averaged 24.8 percent annually, and for the period between 2013 and 2023, the figure was over 30 percent.”
China’s Ambassador to the UK Zheng Zeguang (center) and his wife, Counsellor Hua Mei (10th from right), and Catherine West (10th from left), the parliamentary under-secretary of state at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pose with performers during the reception in London on Wednesday. [Photo provided to China Daily]
And China is facilitating the modernization of the Global South, through the Belt and Road Initiative, and South-South cooperation, with its accumulated investment in Belt and Road partner countries reaching more than 2 trillion yuan by the end of 2023.
The ambassador went on to say that China’s development has injected positive energy into world peace.
“Following an independent foreign policy of peace, China has been building friendship and cooperation with all countries on the basis of mutual respect, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality, and mutual benefit,” he said.
And Zheng talked about China-UK relations in the latter part of his speech, noting that, last month, President Xi Jinping and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed during a phone call that “we should uphold mutual respect, enhance engagement, and expand cooperation”.
He added that Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy had recently met in Laos, and that Vice-Premier He Lifeng and UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves had talked over the phone, as had the energy ministers representing both countries.
“Going forward, we should work together to follow up on the understanding between our leaders, and build a stable and mutually-beneficial relationship,” Zheng said.
More than 500 guests from many sectors of society, including diplomats, members of the Chinese community, and representatives of enterprises, attend the gathering on Wednesday. [Photo provided to China Daily]
He also mentioned the “icebreakers” who opened the doors for trade between China and the UK in the 1950s, and called for the support of people across sectors from both countries for the development of bilateral relations.
Stephen Perry, honorary president of the 48 Group Club, said the ambassador delivered his speech “with great sophistication” and “touched all the points that need to be touched”.
“I always enjoy his speeches because he’s never shouting, he quietly makes the points that people need to think about, he captured it very well tonight,” Perry said. “And 75 years is such a special anniversary, so we needed a quieter moment in all the noise of international relations, somebody just to quietly say ‘we can cooperate, we can get on together, we can find ways to overcome problems’. It was a very fine speech.”
Theresa Booth, director of Engage with China and joint CEO of the Chopsticks Club, said the ambassador’s speech was “very unifying”.
“The ambassador always exudes friendship. And having some singing, which everybody enjoyed at the end, it came out feeling like one people, one humanity. So, I think that was excellent. I thought it was a very positive atmosphere, it bodes very well for China-UK relations,” Booth said.
She was alluding to a well-received performances of singing, folk dancing, and piano by professionals and embassy employees that won warm applause from the audience.
Chinese baritone Yang Kang and Italian American coloratura soprano Juliet Petrus sing I love you, China in Chinese during the reception on Wednesday. [Photo provided to China Daily]
Italian American coloratura soprano Juliet Petrus was among performers, singing I love you, China in Chinese, alongside Chinese baritone Yang Kang.
After the performance, Petrus spoke of the significance of the piece she delivered.
“I have been singing I love you, China since 2011,” she said. “My first time was singing it in Beijing at the National Center of Performing Arts. So, that song has a lot of meaning to me, because it was the first song that I sang in Mandarin.”
The singer added that since she first performed the song, “China has become like a second home for me”.
“So, when I sing it, I have been to all of those places (in the song),” she said. “I have seen those beautiful pine trees, those endless forests, … at least I know how beautiful China is. And it’s a very moving song for me.”
People perform the folk dance Lift Your Veil at the reception on Wednesday. [Photo provided to China Daily]
Pianist Di Xiao performs the piano solos Yellow River and Liu Yang River at the reception on Wednesday. [Photo provided to China Daily]
The choir of China’s embassy in the UK and the choir of China Construction Bank sing My Motherland and I and Auld Lang Syne at the reception on Wednesday. [Photo provided to China Daily]
Full China Daily article available here