Mr. Ludovic Morlot,

Overseas Chinese,

Dear Friends:

Good evening and welcome to the Chinese Embassy!

I am delighted to have you all with us at tonight's concert in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

I wish to give an especially warm welcome to the young musicians, who arrived in London only this afternoon and come to meet us without a moment's rest. Let's give them a big round of applause. Thank you for bringing such a special national day gift to the overseas Chinese in the UK.

Overseas Chinese,

Dear Friends:

Tonight, we are here to enjoy beautiful music. But I think we have our own music to make. I hope we could all join in to play the three movements of the new era.

The first movement is peace and development. This is the theme of our times.

We live in a world that is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century. Amid the tremendous changes, peace and development remain the theme of our times.

In face of this theme, China is ready to work with global partners to build a community with a shared future for mankind, where countries respect each other, uphold equity and justice, and engage in win-win cooperation.

This is a world where mankind deserves peace and happiness.

The second movement is integration and mutual learning between civilisations. This is the overarching melody of our times.

Unilateralism and protectionism are not the theme of our times. Nor are "trade wars" or "conflict of civilisations". These naked acts of bullying are against the general trend of our times. They are losing hearts and minds, and are doomed to be renounced by history.

Exchanges, integration and mutual learning are the only way to ensure that all civilisations flourish together.

I sincerely hope that the performance of NYO-China in London will contribute to the cultural exchange between China and the UK, to friendship between our peoples, and to mutual learning between the Eastern and Western civilisations.

The third movement is patriotism. This is the spirit of our times.

President Xi Jinping said, to realise the Chinese Dream, we must stick to the Chinese road, carry on the Chinese spirit and pool the strength of the Chinese nation.

Great dreams are built upon great spirit. So what is the Chinese spirit?

The Chinese spirit is the internal strength of the nation with patriotism at its core.

Patriotism runs in the blood of the Chinese nation. This spirit has driven generations of sons and daughters of the Chinese nation to strive hard for the development and prosperity of the motherland.

I would like to pay special tribute to the overseas Chinese community for your important contribution to China's development and national reunification over the years. As tensions in Hong Kong escalated recently, you sent letters to British politicians, issued statements and held seminars to deplore violence and oppose foreign interference. You have demonstrated a strong sense of justice and responsibility and you have lived up to the Chinese national spirit! I solute you!

I would like to reiterate that the top priority for Hong Kong now is to end violence, bring violent offenders to justice and restore order. The Central Government of China fully supports the SAR Government under the leadership of Chief Executive Carrie Lam in governing Hong Kong in accordance with law, supports the Hong Kong police in enforcing law strictly and rigorously, and supports the relevant departments and judicial institutions in Hong Kong in bringing violent offenders to justice.

Thank you!