On July 31, 2026, H.E. Ambassador Guo Xiaomei attended and delivered remarks at the embassy's reception marking the 99th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. The full text is as follows:
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends,
Good evening! On behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Estonia, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to all our old and new friends for joining us in celebrating the 99th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army .
The world today is undergoing intertwined changes and turbulence. The cause of peace and development faces a new crossroads. “What is happening to the world?” “What should we do?" — These are the questions of our times. China's answer is, we will remain firmly committed to the path of peaceful development.
China's commitment to peaceful development is rooted first and foremost in the profound heritage of Chinese civilization. Chinese civilization is distinguished by its peaceful nature. The pursuit of peace, amity and harmony is deeply embedded in the spiritual fabric of the Chinese nation. As an ancient Chinese saying goes, “A state, no matter how powerful it is, will perish if bellicose”. You may know the Great Wall, one of China's iconic symbols. It embodies the values of defense and restraint. Throughout history, China has actively pursued foreign exchanges and trade, not external aggression and expansion. It has always upheld patriotism dedicated to defending the homeland, rather than colonialism aimed at territorial conquest.
China's commitment to peaceful development also stems from its understanding of the conditions needed to achieve it's development goals. The fundamental goals of China's development is to enable its people to live better lives. To this end, China must focus wholeheartedly on development. It needs a harmonious and stable domestic environment as well as a peaceful international environment to concentrate on running its own affairs well.
China's commitment to peaceful development also derives from its grasp of the prevailing trend of global development. We are convinced that nothing can hold back the historical trend toward peace, development, cooperation and win-win result; nothing can hold back the aspiration of people around the world for a better life; nothing can hold back the desire of all countries to achieve development and prosperity. The path of peaceful development serves the interests of both China and the rest of the world. We see no reason whatsoever to deviate from it.
In recent years, President Xi Jinping has successively put forward the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the Global Governance initiative. These four major global initiatives are deeply rooted in the fine traditional Chinese culture and are fully aligned with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
They share a common overarching goal: to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and jointly foster an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world with lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity. They share a common value foundation: namely the common values of humanity—peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom. They share a common fundamental mission: putting people at the center and improving the well-being of people of all countries. They share a common basic principle: adhering to extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. Matters should be discussed and handled by all countries through joint efforts.
The vitality of these initiatives lies in their implementation. In just over one month, we will mark the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Estonia. We stand ready to work with Estonia, taking the implementation of the four global initiatives as an opportunity to further expand new areas of cooperation and deepen mutual understanding and friendship between our peoples.
Thank you!