Remarks by Ambassador Zhou Pingjian at the Reception in
Celebration the 75th anniversary of the founding of the
People’s Republic of China
( Nairobi, September 29, 2024 )
Your Excellency Dr. Musalia Mudavadi, Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Friends,
I am delighted to welcome you here today to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. As China’s Ambassador to Kenya, I would like to extend warm greetings and heartfelt thanks to friends from across the sectors who have long cared for and supported China’s development and China-Kenya friendship.
Over the past 75 years, under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Chinese people have worked hard together, made remarkable achievements and opened a spectacular chapter of Chinese modernization. In a short span of several decades, China has transformed from a poor and backward country into a moderately prosperous society in all respects. It has become the world’s second largest economy, biggest trading and manufacturing nation in goods and strongest growth engine in terms of EVs, wind and solar power.
Since its founding 75 years ago, the People’s Republic of China has been committed to improving people’s well-being and seeking rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. In the new era, it has carried forward the mission through advancing Chinese modernization, enhancing its own development and contributing to world progress.
We have,once and for all, resolved the problem of absolute poverty in China, lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, and built the largest education, social security, and healthcare systems in the world, ensuring that the gains of modernization benefit all our people fairly.
We are also soberly aware that China is still at the primary stage of socialism and remains a developing country. We still have a long way to go to enable all 1.4 billion Chinese people to live a comfortable life.
Not long ago, the 20th CPC Central Committee held its third plenary session, making systemic planning for further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization. The Resolution adopted by the plenum lays out more than 300 important tasks, and makes it clear that all of them shall be competed by the time the People’s Republic of China celebrates its 80th anniversary in 2029, which will profoundly further transform China. With Chinese modernization, China will continue to bring more stability and certainty to an increasingly unstable and uncertain world and create vast market space and valuable cooperation opportunities for all countries.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends,
China is committed to pursuing peaceful development, carrying out friendly cooperation with all countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, and building a community with a shared future for mankind.
Developing solidarity and cooperation with African countries is an important cornerstone of China’s foreign policy. The outcomes of the just-concluded FOCAC Beijing Summit will benefit all African countries that have diplomatic relations with China and effectively lift China-Africa cooperation to new heights. The outcomes are of far-reaching significance for guiding the development of China-Africa relations and achieving modernization for both sides.
China highly appreciates Kenya’s significant contribution to the FOCAC Beijing Summit and stands ready to work with Kenya to implement the outcomes of the Summit, continuously push forward the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, and make greater contributions to the building of an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.
China and Kenya share a profound tradition of friendship. Our fruitful and wide-ranging practical cooperation stands out in China-Africa cooperation. Following the guidance of the important common understandings between President Xi and President Ruto, China is committed to working with Kenya to deepen the China-Kenya comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership by pursuing the goal of becoming “three types of partners”.
We should be sincere partners of mutual trust, firmly support each other in safeguarding national sovereignty and independently exploring development paths suited to their national conditions.
We should be cooperative partners of mutual benefit and win-win results, closely synergize the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation with Kenya Vision 2030, build an East African connectivity hub and industrial belt, and strengthen cooperation in such areas as digital economy, new energy, economy and trade, poverty reduction and agriculture development.
We should be strategic partners in upholding fairness and justice, enhance communication and coordination on international and regional issues, work together to safeguard the common interests of the Global South, and promote regional peace and stability.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends,
The Chinese community in Kenya has always been playing an unique and indispensable role in promoting China-Kenya friendship and cooperation. Please allow me to address my fellow countrymen and countrywomen in Chinese.
To conclude, I wish to say Happy Birthday to our great motherland of China and wish her prosperity and our people happiness.
I wish China-Kenya community with a shared future ever closer and stronger,
I wish all of our distinguished guests good health and every success.
Thank you.