Ladies and Gentlemen,
Distinguished Guests,
Dear friends,

Good evening! It is my great pleasure to get together with you all to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. On behalf of the Chinese Mission to the European Union, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of you for being here tonight. I also wish to express my sincere gratitude to all the friends for your care for China’s development and your strong support for friendly exchanges and practical cooperation between China and the EU.

Over the past 75 years, under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, the self-reliant and hardworking Chinese people have successfully embarked on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and achieved a tremendous transformation from standing up and growing prosperous to becoming strong. This July, the Communist Party of China held the Third Plenary Session of its 20th Central Committee, making systematic plans for further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization, setting out a new blueprint for China’s development. The Chinese people are now advancing with full confidence toward building a great country on all fronts and pursuing national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization.

Chinese modernization is a major innovation in both theory and practice of human modernization and also a significant contribution to the cause of global development. Opening up is a defining feature of Chinese modernization. Looking ahead, China will stay committed to developing new institutions for a high-standard open economy. We aim to promote reform and development through openness, and also seek common development through openness with countries around the world, including Europe. 

To this end, China will first expand institutional opening up. Since the entry into the WTO, China’s overall tariff rate has been cut from 15.3% to 7.3%, lower than the 9.8% accession commitment. We have taken actions to align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, and are actively promoting the process of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA). Last month, China and the EU launched the cross-border data flow exchange mechanism and successfully held its first meeting.

Second, China will broaden market access across the board. The latest number of items on the negative list for foreign investment has been cut to 29. The list will be further shortened in the future. Despite the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment not ratified by the EU, China has unilaterally fulfilled its commitment of removing all market access restrictions in the manufacturing sector and expanded the openness of the financial sector. Not long ago, China made public its plan to allow wholly foreign-owned hospitals in certain areas. And we will continue to promote wider and orderly opening up in sectors such as telecommunications, the Internet, education, culture and medical services.

Third, China will take proactive steps to further open up. At the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation early this month, President Xi Jinping announced the decision to give all LDCs having diplomatic relations with China, including 33 countries in Africa, zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines. This has made China the first major developing country and the first major economy to take such a step. Other measures including the Belt and Road Initiative, pilot free trade zones and the China International Import Expo are all concrete actions taken by China on its own for greater opening up. We also offered visa-free access for 11 EU countries in an effort to facilitate people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Friends,

Europe is an important partner in the pursuit of Chinese modernization. The first Sino-foreign joint venture was set up with a European country. Many European companies and friends have accompanied us on the road to reform and opening up, making an important contribution to China’s modernization for which we are sincerely grateful and will always remember. At the same time, Europe has benefited greatly from China’s development and its cooperation with China. The annual trade between China and the EU has reached nearly $800 billion. The cumulative Chinese direct investment in the EU has amounted to $102.4 billion, creating 270,000 jobs. These exchanges have improved the lives of Europeans and increased Europe’s competitiveness. Facts have shown that Chinese modernization is not a risk, still less a threat, but a source of progress and prosperity for Europe. The more China modernizes, the wider we will open our doors, and the more opportunities will be created for Europe and vitality for the world’s shared growth and prosperity.

No matter how the international situation changes, China will remain committed to promoting the comprehensive strategic partnership with the EU. We will continue to see the EU as a key partner for economic and trade cooperation, a priority partner for scientific and technological cooperation, and a reliable partner for industrial and supply chain cooperation. We are also ready to intensify all-out people-to-people and cultural exchanges with Europe, reduce and resolve differences through dialogue, in order to build greater mutual trust and a more accurate perception of each other. We can help each other succeed in the process of Chinese modernization and European integration, and bring more impetus of peace and prosperity to this changing and turbulent world. Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of China-EU diplomatic relations. Let us join hands to implement the strategic consensus reached by President Xi Jinping and EU leaders, and create a better future for China-EU relations.

Long live the common prosperity of China and the EU and happiness of our peoples!

Long live the mutually beneficial cooperation of China and the EU and friendship of our peoples!

Thank you.