Beijing, 12 September 2019

Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,

Good afternoon! It is a great pleasure to join you at Lanting again. Let me first extend a warm welcome to Secretary Du Jiahao, Governor Xu Dazhe and all the old and new friends present here.

There is a special meaning for today's event. In 18 days, we will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. As an important province, Hunan has been playing a unique role in the extraordinary development journey of the Chinese nation.

Hunan is the cradle of China's revolution. It was home to Comrade Mao Zedong, the main founder of New China. Many revolutionaries who dedicated themselves to the nation were also from Hunan, including three founding marshals and six founding senior generals of the People's Republic. In the gruesome War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, more than 300,000 men and women from Hunan made the ultimate sacrifice. And we know the names of nearly 120,000 of these martyrs. With their precious lives, they made indelible contribution to the founding of New China and the liberation of the nation.

Hunan is an epitome of China's reform and opening up. Over the past decades, it has been implementing the strategy of innovation-led opening up and development, and working hard to lead the opening up of China's inland. Hunan's GDP has grown nearly 40 times compared to the early years of reform and opening up. Its GDP created every six hours today is tantamount to its entire economy of the whole year of 1949. Hunan's world-class and advanced scientific and technological achievements, such as the magnetic-levitation trains and the Beidou Satellite system, have become its new name cards. The province is actively integrating itself into the Belt and Road Initiative. It has established extensive transport links through the China-Europe freight train service. It is now the permanent venue for the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo. All this has brought about important opportunities for Hunan in the new round of opening up.

Hunan is a prime example of poverty reduction through development. In 2013, it was in the Shibadong Village in western Hunan where General Secretary Xi Jinping first outlined the important vision of "targeted poverty reduction". Since then, Hunan has been moving on the "fast track" of poverty alleviation, and has improved people's lives significantly. Hunan is also the place where Academician Yuan Longping cultivates the "super hybrid rice". This technological advancement has not only benefited the Chinese people, but also contributed in an important way to poverty reduction and sustainable development around the world. To date, China has trained over 14,000 technicians from more than 80 developing countries to use this technology, leading to an annual increase of rice output that can feed as many as 80 million more people.

Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,

Seventy years ago, Chairman Mao Zedong, with his strong Hunan accent, solemnly announced to the whole world on the Tian'anmen Rostrum, "The Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China is established! The Chinese people have now stood up!" These words are still resonating in the heart of the Chinese people, inspiring them to work hard for national rejuvenation. Under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), China has completed in a span of decades a journey that had taken developed countries centuries. It is a miracle of development unseen before in the history of the world.

Our achievement in the past 70 years proves that we have chosen the right path, the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics under the CPC leadership. It is the path that we will stick to no matter how many difficulties await us. No external interference or containment can dampen our confidence or courage, let alone blocking the historical trend of the great renewal of the Chinese nation.

Our achievement in the past 70 years proves that China's development is an opportunity for the world. China has been contributing over 30 percent of the global growth for many years, outperforming any other economy. On the international front, China remains committed to peaceful development, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation. It endeavors to safeguard the current international order and system, and promote globalization and trade liberalization. It seeks common development with other countries on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit.

The world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century. Global challenges of one kind or another are growing. Unilateralism, protectionism and power politics are rearing their ugly head again, posing threats to the stability and development of the world. Under these new circumstances, no country can stay immune. Stronger communication and effective coordination between nations are more imperative than ever. Countries must respect each other's choice of their development paths, enlarge the pie of cooperation, uphold international equity and justice, safeguard multilateralism, and continue to promote democracy in international relations. In this process, China is willing to make its important contribution.

Your Excellencies,

Tomorrow will be China's Mid-Autumn Festival, which symbolizes family reunion and happiness. I would like to take this opportunity to extend to you my best wishes. I hope that at today's event, you will have a taste of the Mid-Autumn Festival and Hunan Province, and experience China in the New Era.

Thank you!