Ambassador Zhang Yuanyuan making a toast
Ambassador Zhang Yuanyuan and wife with Mr. and Mrs. Satyanand
Mr. John McKinnon, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, giving a response
Your Excellency the Honorable Anand Satyanand, Governor-General of New Zealand, and Mrs. Satyanand
The Honorable Margaret Wilson, Speaker of the Parliament,
The Honorable Minister Annette King, Representative of the New Zealand Government,
The Honorable MPs, Senior Government Officials and NZDF Officers,
Distinguished Representatives of the Communities,
Dean and Colleagues of the Diplomatic Corps,
Friends and Compatriots,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Please allow me to thank you all for your presence at this Embassy reception to celebrate with us the 57th Anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
This is my first year in New Zealand, and my first time to host a National Day reception as China's ambassador. It is a distinct honor and privilege to represent China in this beautiful and friendly country, particularly at a time when tremendous changes are taking place both in China and the relations between our two countries.
The last year has continued to see spectacular progress in China. Thanks to our persistent efforts with reform and opening up, China has maintained rapid economic growth for nearly three decades, resulting in the economy expanding over 10 times. In the first half of this year, China's GDP grew by a hefty 10.9%. The country's foreign trade, now ranking the world's third largest, continues to rise by some 20% year on year. More Chinese have been able to travel overseas for business or pleasure and the number hit an all time high of 32 million last year. With hard work in poverty alleviation, the number of rural poor in China has gone down from more than 250 million some 20 years ago to just 23 million now.
Of course, China is still a developing country and will remain so for a long time to come. We must not forget that though our GDP may be the fourth largest in the world, our per capita GDP ranks well behind the 100th place. That means we still have a very long way to go and mountains of problems to sort out before we turn China into a modern country with a prosperous standard of living, a well-protected environment, an advanced culture, and a truly harmonious society.
That is why we have shown such a keen interest in learning from other countries, including New Zealand. Since appointed ambassador here last November, I have become a witness to a vibrant and growing partnership between China and New Zealand. I have been very fortunate to sit in many high-level exchanges between the two governments and to host scores of Chinese local officials on study missions here. The scope and depth of the relationship is indeed very impressive. The decision made by Premier Wen Jiabao and Prime Minister Helen Clark last April for concluding a bilateral free trade agreement within a year or two is a powerful testimony to that strong partnership. Though there might still be some tough bargaining to do as we go forward, which is only natural in so far as the mandate of our respective negotiators is concerned, I am confident that we will meet the goal of producing a comprehensive, high quality, balanced and mutually acceptable FTA as scheduled, because it serves the fundamental interests of both the Chinese and New Zealand peoples.
As China's ambassador, I am committed to building stronger ties between our two peoples. In my rather limited contacts with the Kiwi communities of many colors and stripes, I have been overwhelmed by their groundswell of goodwill for the Chinese people, their eagerness to learn about China and their desire to cultivate extensive cooperation with their Chinese counterparts. This has made my job both easier and more challenging. To be sure, I will keep up efforts to improve my communications skills and while doing that I will continue to look to you for guidance, support and assistance. Let us work together to move the China-New Zealand partnership of win-win cooperation to a new high.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I now invite you to join me in a toast
To the health of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,
To New Zealand and her great people,
To friendship and cooperation between China and New Zealand, and
To the health of all our friends present here!
Gan Bei!