(September 26, 2023)
Honorable Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz,
Gladys María Bejerano Portela, Comptroller General of Cuba,
Mayra Arevich Marín, Minister of Communications of Cuba,
Caridad Diego Bello, President of the Cuba-China Parliamentary Friendship Group,
Fernando González Llort, President of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples,
Roberto Legrá Sotolongo, Vice-Minister of the FAR, Chief of the General Staff and General of the Cuban Army Corps,
Josefina Vidal Ferreiro, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Distinguished diplomatic colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends,
Good evening! Today we gather here to celebrate the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the 63rd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between New China and Cuba. Thank you for your gracious presence. I would like to present the honored guests with me on the stage.
A very warm welcome to everyone and I hope you will have an enjoyable evening.
Over the past 70-odd years, under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Chinese people have been working together for their lofty goals with concerted efforts and great determination. We have now achieved our first centenary goal of eradicating absolute poverty and completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and have embarked on a new journey to realize the second centenary goal of building a socialist modernized country in all respects, and comprehensively promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-style modernization.
Chinese-style modernization is something new in the history of human modernization and is characterized by a huge population, common prosperity for all people, the coordination of material and cultural progress, the harmonious coexistence of human beings and nature, and the path of peaceful development. Chinese-style modernization conforms to the inherent logic of the Chinese civilization and has been a result of painstaking trials and tribulations. It offers a new perspective for developing countries and their people who want to achieve modernization, and will surely contribute to the well-being of the people of China and the rest of the world.
This year also marks the 45th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up, which is a crucial move that fundamentally changed the face of contemporary China. At present, China is accelerating the creation of a new development pattern and making every effort to promote high-quality development. Maintaining a high level of opening up to the outside world and continuously realizing economic development will be always a work in progress instead of a mission accomplished.
There are many opinions, sometimes negative on China’s economic recovery post -Covid. In the first half of this year, China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.5 percent year-on-year. In the first eight months of this year, China’s non-financial direct overseas investment increased by 18.8% year-on-year, and 33,000 new foreign-invested enterprises were newly registered nationwide, up 33% year-on-year. According to the International Monetary Fund, China’s economy will contribute 1/3 to global economic growth this year.
China’s economy as a whole is picking up. The fundamentals for sound and stable growth in the long term remain unchanged; its resilience, potential, and the conditions supporting high-quality development remain unchanged. China’s economy remains an important engine of growth for the world’s economy.
As President Xi Jinping said in a metaphor at the opening ceremony of the First China International Import Exposition, the Chinese economy is not a pond, but an ocean. The ocean certainly has its calm days, but also gales and storms. Gales and storms may ravage a pond, but never an ocean.
This year also marks the tenth anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by China. Over the past 10 years, the BRI has attracted the participation of more than 150 countries and 32 international organizations, resulting in more than 3,000 practical cooperation projects, boosting investment of nearly $1 trillion and lifting nearly 40 million people out of poverty.
The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in Indonesia, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the Piraeus Port of COSCO Shipping, the China-Egypt Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, and the China-Equatorial Guinea Friendship Hospital have played an important role in the economic and social development of the local communities. Projects such as Mariel Development Zone Photovoltaic Solar Park in Cuba, the Chico section of Chile Highway 5, and the Port of Chancay in Peru have effectively improved the transportation and livelihoods of Latin American people.
Next month, China will host the third Belt and Road High-Level Forum for International Cooperation, and so far representatives from more than 130 countries have confirmed their attendance. I trust when they gather in Beijing, they will earnestly discuss ways and means to further promote cooperation and development.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends,
Cuba was the first country in the Western Hemisphere to establish diplomatic relations with New China. Over the past 60-odd years, in the face of international uncertainties, the two countries have been working together through thick and thin while building socialism with their respective characteristics. China-Cuba relationship has become a model of solidarity and cooperation between socialist countries and genuine mutual assistance between developing countries.
In November last year, President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez was the first Head of State in Latin America and the Caribbean to pay a state visit to China after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The leaders of the two parties and two countries reached an important consensus on continuing to deepen bilateral relations in the new era, and joining hands to build a community with a shared future between China and Cuba. In August this year, President Xi Jinping and President Díaz-Canel met again on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in South Africa.
Not long ago, Mr Li Xi, who is a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the all-powerful CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection attended the Summit of Group 77 and China in Havana as the special representative of President Xi Jinping. He also made an official visit to Cuba. The visit contributed to the solidarity and cooperation among developing countries and the building of a community with a shared future for the global South, injecting new impetus once again into China-Cuba relations. At the General Debate of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Vice President Han Zheng emphasized that China will continue to firmly support the Cuban people in their just struggle to defend their sovereignty and oppose external interference and blockade, and appreciates the efforts made by Cuba to combat terrorism.
China and Cuba have been expanding practical cooperation in economy and trade, and promoting fruitful projects in the fields of new and renewable energy, information technology, agriculture, and tourism. PV Solar Park projects with grants from the Chinese government are making progress. China-Cuba biotechnology cooperation has brought tangible economic and social benefits to the people of the two countries. The first Chinese tour group after the pandemic arrived in Havana in August, and Cuban products, such as honey, guava paste, and coffee, to name but a few, have been popular on China’s e-commerce platforms.
Going forward, China is ready to work with Cuba to continuously turn the political consensus between our leaders into more mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation results. China and Cuba will remain good companions in building socialism, good partners for common development, and good comrades on strategic issues.
To conclude, I sincerely wish prosperity to my country, eternal peace to the people of the world, and everlasting friendship between China and Cuba!
Thank you!