Her Excellency The Most Honourable Dame Sandra Mason, President of Barbados,
The Hon. Santia Bradshaw, Acting Prime Minister,
The Hon. Senator Reginal Farley, President of the Senate,
The Hon. Kirk Humphrey, Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs,
The Hon. Dwight Sutherland, Minister of Housing, Lands and Maintenance,
The Hon. Wilfred Abrahams, Minister of Home Affairs and Information,
The Hon. Ryan Straughn, Minister in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs,
The Hon. Shantal Munro-Knight, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office,
Members of the Parliament,
Officials from the Government of Barbados,
Dr. Ronnie Yearwood, President of the Democratic Labour Party,
Colleagues from the Diplomatic and Consular Corps,
Specially invited, the Barbados Defence Force Band,
Representatives from Association for Barbados-China Friendship, Barbados China Returned Scholars Association, Chinese Companies in Barbados, Chinese medical team to Barbados, Confucius Institute of University of West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Chinese Association in Barbados,
Friends from Media,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good evening!
Welcome to the National Day Reception marking the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, which will fall on October 1st, 2023.
First of all, on behalf of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Barbados, I would like to convey good wishes and best regards to all the Chinese nationals and citizens in Barbados , and also extend heartfelt appreciation to local friends across all walks of life who are long concerned and supportive of China's economic and social development.
Dear Friends,
74 years ago, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, having endured 28 years of arduous struggles, the Chinese people achieved national independence and people's liberation, founding the People's Republic of China. Over the past 74 years, under the leadership of the Party, tens of millions of Chinese have worked tirelessly and fearlessly to build their nation. They have been tested by hardships and proved by the tremendous achievements made in development. As a result, the Chinese nation has achieved the tremendous from standing up and growing prosperous to becoming strong, and forged a path for socialism with Chinese characteristics. No matter how the international environment may evolve, China consistently adheres to the fundamental national policy of opening to the outside world and persues a mutually beneficial strategy of opening-up, being committed to its foreign policy goal of upholding world peace and promoting common development. China is dedicated to promoting a human community with a shared future, strives to create new opportunities for the world with its own development, always acts as a builder of global peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of the international order.
China is marching toward the Second Centenary Goal of building itself into a great modern socialist country in all respects that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful when the People’s Republic marks its centenary. We are pursuing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization. This Path includes the modernization of a huge population, common prosperity for all, material and cultural-ethical advancement, harmony between humanity and nature, and peaceful development. With these main attributes, it has created a new form of human advancement. China hopes to share new development opportunities with Barbados and all countries around the world through its achievements in modernization, and together make the world a better place.
This year, China’s economy continues to recover. Its rebound is generally on a sound track. For the first half of this year, China’s GDP grew by 5.5 percent year-on-year. According to the IMF World Economic Outlook updated last month, China’s economy is expected to account for one third of global growth this year. China’s development prospects are bright and are sure to inject more new momentum into global economic recovery and sustainable development.
The world today is undergoing both transformation and upheaval, changes unseen in a century are unfolding at a faster pace, human society faces unprecedented challenges. The people’s wish for a happy life is our goal, and peace, development and win-win cooperation are the unstoppable trends of the times. China is ready to continue to work with the rest of the world, staying committed to a shared future of the human community. While closely engaging with the world, China continues to develop itself, and promotes global prosperity and stability through its own development at the same time. China firmly opposes protectionism and all forms of decoupling and severing supply chains. We are committed to supporting the stability and smooth functioning of global industrial and supply chains, and are willing to work together with the rest of the world for a brighter future.
Dear Friends,
Barbados is China's good friend and good partner in the eastern Caribbean. Since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between our two countries 46 years ago, the bilateral ties have maintained a sound momentum of growth. The two countries have carried out fruitful cooperation in such areas as economy and trade, culture, education and health care, setting an example of mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit and common development between countries of different sizes. In June this year, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley successfully visited China, where the leaders of both countries jointly drew the blueprint for the future development of China-Barbados relations, propelling the friendly relations between the two countries to a new level. President Xi Jinping pointed out that Barbados, with its people-centered approach, shares a strong alignment of governing philosophies with the Communist Party of China. China is advancing Chinese modernization through high-quality development, which will bring new opportunities for Barbados' development and China-Barbados cooperation. Barbados is welcomed to board the 'express train' of China's development and join hands with China to create a harmonious 'concerto' of cooperation, building a closer China-Barbados community of shared destiny. Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley stated that the shared ultimate goal of both countries is to prioritize people's well-being with the utmost desire to improve lives, and that Barbados is ready to strengthen cooperation with China in such fields as agriculture, new energy, infrastructure construction, poverty reduction, tourism, culture and education, etc.
So far this year, in the field of practical cooperation, several noteworthy developments have occurred. The construction of Sam Lord's Castle Hotel, with preferential loan from China, is about to be ready for use. The Scotland District Road Rehabilitation Project, also with preferential loan from China, has broken ground. The China-Aid National Stadium Redevelopment project has made significant progress.The China-Aid Centre for Food Security and Entrepreneurship Project in Barbados is currently under construction. Hunan Province aid project of vegetable demonstration in Barbados has achieved remarkable results, with the cultivation of varieties of high-quality vegetables and a breakthrough with upland rice planting in Barbados.
With regard to the people-to-people connectivity and cultural exchanges, The Fish and Dragon Festival has been held for nine consecutive years. The sixth batch of China-Aid medical team has arrived in Barbados and stand ready to provide medical services to Barbadian people at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The Confucius Institute of the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus held a variety of activities including a table tennis exhibition match. China also granted government scholarship to Barbadian students to study in China.
Dear Friends,
This year marks the beginning of fully implementing the guiding principles set forth by the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the 45th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up, the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, and the first year of the world's emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chinese government and its people are striving in unity to build a modern socialist country in all respects and advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts. China would like to work with Barbados to further advance the bilateral relations under the guidance of President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, continuously enhance political mutual trust, promote the Belt and Road Cooperation, join hands to implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative,and the Global Civilization Initiative, and build a higher level of China-Barbados relations which will benefit the people of our two countries, leading to the China-Barbados community with a shared future, and making China-Barbados relations a model of unity, cooperation and mutual benefit among developing countries.
Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends
In conclusion, I’d like to propose a toast:
May the People’s Republic of China enjoy prosperity and its people happiness!
May China-Barbados friendship and cooperation grow from strength to strength!
May all the Friends here tonight enjoy good health!
Cheers!