Remarks by Ambassador Cui Tiankai At the 2020 Chinese National Day & Mid-Autumn Festival Virtual Reception and Concert

2020/10/02

Dear Friends,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to meet with you online to jointly celebrate the 71st anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and China's traditional Mid-Autumn Festival. On behalf of all my colleagues at the Chinese Embassy, I would like to extend best wishes to all of you and festive greetings to our people back in China.

We are marking the occasion in the context of the global efforts against COVID-19. I wish to take this opportunity to pay high tribute to the courageous frontline workers who are still fighting the disease. I also wish to thank all our friends, compatriots and students who have given invaluable support to China's fight against the pandemic.

The unexpected outbreak of COVID-19 has changed people's lives and brought unprecedented challenges to the governance of various countries and the whole international governance system. More than ever before, we should put people and life before everything else, follow the guidance of science and show the goodwill and wisdom for solidarity and coordination. More than ever before, we should support and care about each other and get through this together.

Amid the complex changes, the Chinese people and Chinese government keep to the right path and firmly stand on the right side of history.

- We have, all along, upheld the people-centered philosophy of development and stayed true to our original aspiration to pursue happiness for the people and revitalization for the nation.

Since the beginning of this year, the Communist Party of China has led the Chinese people in making all-out efforts to control the virus. As we are restoring our life and economy to normalcy, we have every confidence to achieve our goals within the set time frame, that is, to accomplish the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and to lift out of poverty all rural residents living under the current poverty line. We are committed to deepening reform and opening our country even wider in an all-round way. We have implemented the Foreign Investment Law and are working hard to shorten the negative list on the access for foreign investment to the Chinese market, further open up the services sector, widen market access to the manufacturing sector and agriculture, and push forward the development of Hainan free trade port.

China will soon launch the 14th Five-Year Plan, and it is striving to promote modernization of its system and capacity for governance and foster a new development paradigm with domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other. China's development will not only benefit its own people, but also make significant contribution to world peace, stability and prosperity.

- We have, all along, firmly championed and practiced multilateralism and worked to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

COVID-19 reminds us that we live in an interconnected global village with a common stake. COVID-19 is a challenge to the entire humanity and no country can handle its impact alone. A global challenge of this magnitude cannot be solved by the traditional toolbox of great-power competition. Obsession with the Cold-War mentality and ideological confrontation will lead nowhere. Strengthening international coordination and cooperation and reforming and improving international governance is the only right path forward.

President Xi Jinping pointed out in his address to the General Debate of the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly that China will continue to work as a builder of global peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of international order. It will continue to be actively involved in and contribute to the international fight against COVID-19. We will continue to share our epidemic control practices, diagnostics and therapeutics with other countries, provide support and assistance to countries in need, ensure stable global anti-epidemic supply chains, and actively participate in the global research on tracing the source and transmission routes of the virus. At the moment, several COVID-19 vaccines developed by China are in Phase III clinical trials. When their development is completed and they are available for use, these vaccines will be made a global public good, and they will be provided to other developing countries on a priority basis.

We hope that in a world full of uncertainties and complex changes, countries can all make correct choices conducive to the global wellbeing.

- We have been firmly opposed, all along, to a new "Cold War" or decoupling, and we are committed to the sound and stable growth of China-US relations.

Indeed, the China-US relationship is experiencing severe difficulties rarely seen in the past 41 years of diplomatic ties. Some people attempt to write off the hard-won achievements in China-US relations, stoke up decoupling and incite ideological confrontation and a new "Cold War". This has seriously undermined the fundamental interests of the Chinese and American people.

As President Xi said, China is committed to peaceful, open, cooperative and common development. We will never seek hegemony, expansion, or sphere of influence. We have no intention to fight either a Cold War or a hot war with any country. We will continue to narrow differences and resolve disputes with others through dialogue and negotiation.

We believe that a sound and stable China-US relationship is in the interests of both countries, and it is needed for achieving the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and building a community with a shared future for mankind. China's policy towards the United States is highly stable and consistent. We are willing to develop our relations with the US with goodwill and sincerity, and the two countries should lose no time in taking bilateral relations onto the right track of no conflict, no confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation.

Dear Friends,

We Chinese often say, for all the vicissitudes of human society, the right path shall always prevail. I call upon all of you to work together to overcome difficulties and create a better tomorrow for mankind.

Once again I want to express heartfelt thanks to our friends who have cared for and supported the development of China and China-US relations. I wish all of you and your families health, happiness and all the best.