Your Excellency Prime Minister Roivas,
Your Excellency President of the Riigikogu Nestor,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to be joined by all of you here at the reception to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. I wish to extend, on behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Estonia, my warm welcome to all of you.
For the past 65 years, especially since the introduction of reform and opening up in the year 1978, China has been firmly committed to an independent foreign policy of peace. In line with China's fundamental interests and the trend of peace, development and win-win cooperation, we have striven to develop ourselves through securing a peaceful international environment, and by so doing maintain and promote world peace through our own development.
Thanks to the reform and innovation, the Chinese economy has been for many years maintaining steady and sound growth. However, the reform has now entered deep water and numerous difficulties facing the economic development need to be tackled. In pursuing progress while maintaining stability, the Chinese government has been undertaking a comprehensive deepening reform that addresses both immediate and long-term needs with a view to ensuring steady growth. In the first half of this year, the Chinese economy registered a 7.4% growth. By maintaining a medium-high growth rate, we are moving toward a medium-high level of development and create more value and upgrade the Chinese economy.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We now live in an era defined by deepening economic globalization, with countries increasingly depending on one another in interests and sharing their destinies closely. China needs the world and the world needs China. China's endeavor to realize the two centenary goals and the Chinese dream of the great renewal of the Chinese nation will present great development opportunities and a huge market to the world. In March this year, while in Brussels Chinese President Xi Jinping declared to jointly forge four major China-EU partnerships for peace, growth, reform and civilization. It not only injects new impetus into China-EU cooperation, but also brings new opportunities for the development of bilateral relations between China and every EU country including Estonia.
As the Chinese Ambassador to Estonia, I'm glad to see that pragmatic cooperation between China and Estonia are making headways in recent years. Exchanges and cooperation have been productive in fields like trade, culture, education, and local governments. In the first half of this year, mutual exchange of visits by the two Foreign Affairs Committees of Estonia's Riigikogu and China's National people's Congress has taken place which deepened our mutual political trust.
I believe that as long as Estonia and China continue to respect each other's core interests, and on the basis of deepening mutual understanding and enhancing mutual political trust, China-Estonian relations and mutually beneficial cooperation will enter a new era of development. China is willing to work with Estonia together to promote the long-term, healthy and steady development of our bilateral relations.
To conclude, I wish to propose a toast,
To the 65th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China!
To the prosperity of both China and Estonia!
And to the health of all our friends here!
Cheers!