By Wang Zhijian, Chinese Consul General in Christchurch
On the occasion of the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, I wish to extend, on behalf of the Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch, festive greetings and best wishes to Chinese compatriots, Chinese students, employees of Chinese institutions and friends from all walks of life in South Island.
Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has united and led the Chinese people of all ethnic groups in striving to achieve the national rejuvenation through self-reliance and hard work and created one miracle after another. China has realized the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and eliminated absolute poverty. China is on its way towards the second centenary goal, which is to build a great modern socialist country in all respects by the middle of the 21st century.
Over the past year, the Chinese government has given top priority to people’s lives and taken strong measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. By September, 78 percent of China’s total population, namely 1.02 billion people, have been fully vaccinated. As the first major economy to recover from the pandemic, China’s economy has returned to pre-COVID-19 levels, and imports and exports have been growing for 15 consecutive months. China’s economy has become a stabilizer of global supply chains and a key driver of global economic and trade recovery. China has formally filed an application to New Zealand, the depository of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)to join it, demonstrating its firm resolve in opening up and promoting regional economic cooperation. China’s development will continue to bring opportunities to the world.
Over the past year, COVID-19 has had a certain impact on people-to-people exchanges between China and New Zealand, but friendship between our two peoples remained unchanged. We shared experience and supported each other when fighting against the pandemic. Growth in economic and trade cooperation brought tangible benefits to our two peoples under the difficult circumstances and strengthened our confidence in developing our comprehensive strategic partnership.
Next February, China will host the Beijing Winter Olympics. Next December will mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and New Zealand. We would like to take this opportunity to further promote practical cooperation between China and the South Island and continuously enrich the content of comprehensive strategic partnership between China and New Zealand. We look forward to the active support of our compatriots and friends in South Island.
In conclusion, I wish the prosperity of our great motherland, the stronger friendship between China and South Island of New Zealand, and the health, happiness and success of our Chinese compatriots in South Island.
