（2023.09.28）

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and gentlemen, friends,

Good evening!

Welcome to the reception celebrating the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Taking this opportunity, I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to friends from all sectors for your long-term support to China's development and the exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States.

Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China 74 years ago, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people, with unity and hard work, have transformed the once impoverished China to the world’s second largest economy, and a moderately prosperous society in all respects. We have now embarked on a new journey of building a modern socialist country in all respects and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts. The Chinese people are forging ahead with big strides along the Chinese path to modernization.

The Chinese path to modernization is a path that aims to achieve common prosperity and continuously create better lives for all 1.4 billion Chinese people. Since the beginning of the reform and opening-up, more than 800 million people in China have been lifted out of poverty and the world’s largest middle-income group of over 400 million people has been created.

We know China’s development remains uneven and inadequate, and it must continually meet people’s ever-growing needs for a better life. This involves both making the economic pie bigger and ensuring fair distribution. It requires continuous reforms to further develop the socialist market economy, expanding domestic demand potential, promoting coordinated development between urban and rural areas, stimulating greater economic vitality, and pursuing high-quality development.

China also aims to advance high-standard opening up, which means expanding market access, continuously improving the business environment, and creating new development opportunities. China is committed to green and low-carbon development, and will work actively and prudently toward carbon peak and carbon neutrality, promoting harmony between humanity and nature, and accelerating the building of a Beautiful China.

China’s economy grew 5.5% in the first half of the year, maintained a momentum of recovery and growth. China enjoys several distinct advantages: a socialist market economy in systemic terms, a supersize market in terms of demand, a full-fledged industrial system in terms of supply, and abundant, high-caliber labor force and entrepreneurs in terms of human resources. The Chinese economy has strong resilience, tremendous potential and great vitality. The fundamentals sustaining China’s long-term growth remain unchanged. The giant ship of the Chinese economy will continue to cleave waves and sail ahead, continue to provide new impetus for global economic growth.

The Chinese path to modernization is a path of peaceful development that benefits the Chinese people as well as promotes global development and progress. People of all nations are equal members of the global village and share a common future. Only by adhering to mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation can we effectively address various challenges, safeguard human security, and promote common prosperity.

This year marks the ten-year anniversary of the initiative of building a community of shared future for mankind put forward by President Xi Jinping. Over the years, China has always uphold the common values of mankind of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom. The idea of building a community with a shared future has spawned action and become a reality. China has always advocated a new Global Security Philosophy that features dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance and win-win over zero-sum, we believe in the progress of human civilization through cultural exchange and mutual learning. China has always been a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of the international order. We will continue to contribute Chinese wisdom and strength to the stability and prosperity of the world, and work together with other countries to create a better future for all.

Dear friends,

52 years ago, with extraordinary strategic vision and political courage, the leaders of China and the United States ended 22 years of hostile isolation and opened the door of communication and exchange between the two countries. A lot has changed in both the world and our two countries since then, but the importance of China-US relations to our countries and the world has not changed. The fact that we share extensive common interests and are interdependent has not changed. Our peoples’ aspiration for greater exchanges and cooperation has not changed. Nor has the international community’s expectation for a stable and healthy China-US relationship.

China-US relationship not only bears on the well-being of the 1.7 billion Chinese and American people, but also profoundly affects the future and destiny of the mankind. China wants to see a sound and steady China-US relationship and believes that the two major countries can overcome various difficulties and find the right way to get along based on the three principle of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation put forward by President Xi Jinping. We sincerely hope that the US and China could work together and take concrete actions to strengthen dialogues, manage differences and expand cooperation with genuine sincerity, push the China-US relationship back to a healthy and stable track.

The hope and foundation of the China-U.S. relationship lie in the people. The Midwestern region of the United States has always played an important role in the development of China-US relations. We have witnessed numerous stories of friendly exchanges and win-win cooperation between the two sides in the extensive areas of trade, investment, agriculture, education, and culture. We can always feel people’s support in the Midwestern region for China-US exchanges and cooperation. I believe that with our joint efforts, exchanges and cooperation between China and the Mid-west US will yield more results and make further contribution to the healthy development of China-US relations.

In conclusion, I would like to once again express my heartfelt gratitude to the people from all walks of life who have long cared about and supported the development of China-US relations.

Let me propose a toast,

to our great motherland’s prosperity and our people’s happiness!

to the friendship and cooperation between Chinese and American people.

to the health and wellbeing of all the friends present today.

Wish you all a happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

Thank you!