On January 24, the Chinese Embassy in the UK held an online reception in celebration of the Chinese New Year 2022. Ambassador to the UK Zheng Zeguang delivered a speech entitled Celebrating Proud Achievements and Pressing Forward with Confidence. Lord Mandelson, former First Secretary of State, Sir Douglas Flint, UK’s Special Envoy to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Stephen Perry, Chairman of the 48 Group Club, and Phil Agland, famous British director, spoke at the event.
Around 500 people attended the reception online, including British government officials, members of both Houses of Parliament, heads of well-known British universities and other educational institutions, British research, academic and cultural institutions, British friendship communities, and British and Chinese mainstream medias, diplomats from international organizations and foreign missions in the UK, representatives of overseas Chinese, Chinese institutions and international students in the UK, Consul General of China to Manchester Zheng Xiyuan, Consul General of China to Edinburgh Ma Qiang, Consul General of China to Belfast Zhang Meifang, and the Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, Law Sun-on.
The reception started in the joyful melody of Chinese New Year Overture, followed by a short video about the Chinese New Year traditions and the Beijing Winter Olympics, displaying the charm of Chinese culture, the modern sports facilities and the vigour of winter sports. The mascots of the Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, "Bing Dundun" and "Xue Rongrong", were displayed at the reception, adding to the festive atmosphere and warming up for the Winter Olympics.
In his speech, Ambassador Zheng Zeguang first extended his best wishes to the Chinese and British friends from all walks of life and expressed his sincere gratitude to them for the great support they have given to the Chinese Embassy in the UK over the past year and for their positive contribution to the development of China-UK relationship.
Ambassador Zheng said, the Chinese New Year is an occasion for families and friends to get together, share happy moments, and exchange best wishes and encouragements. The past year, the Year of the Ox, has been a milestone for China. It was filled with major events, joyous occasions, and proud achievements. We marked the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. China has realized the first centenary goal, namely, building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. The country is now striving with great vitality towards the second centenary goal, that is, to build a great modern socialist country in a comprehensive way. The Communist Party of China held the sixth plenum of its 19th Central Committee. The third historical resolution of the Party was adopted. In the past year, we responded steadily to the profound changes unseen in a hundred years and the gravest pandemic of the century, and led the world in economic recovery and pandemic response. The 14th Five Year Plan was off to a good start. In the spirit of a community with a shared future for mankind, China vigorously supports global pandemic response and promotes common development.
Ambassador Zheng noted that the Chinese New Year is a festival of harmony and cooperation. The past year also witnessed the China-UK relationship overcoming various obstacles, making new headway and bringing more tangible benefits to the peoples of the two countries. Last October, President Xi Jinping had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in which they reached important understanding on China-UK ties and closer cooperation in all areas. This conversation pointed the way forward for the further development of this very important relationship. Premier Li Keqiang had a virtual dialogue with UK business leaders, which sent a positive message of supporting closer mutually-beneficial cooperation between our two countries. The two countries maintained communication and dialogue on pandemic response and climate action, and in the fields of energy, financial services, economy and trade. The two countries hosted the COP15 to the Convention on Biological Diversity and COP26 to the UNFCCC respectively, stepped up communication and coordination on addressing climate change and preserving biological diversity, and made positive contribution to global green development.
Ambassador Zheng said, the Chinese New Year is also a festival of hope and aspiration. At the 2022 World Economic Forum Virtual Session on January 17th, President Xi Jinping proposed and expounded China’s solution. He pointed out, countries need to embrace cooperation and jointly defeat the pandemic, resolve various risks and promote steady recovery of the world economy, bridge the development divide and revitalize global development, and discard Cold War mentality and seek peaceful coexistence and win-win outcomes. In the Year of the Tiger, China will stay committed to pursuing high-quality development, to reform and opening-up and to promoting ecological conservation. We will continue to champion the common values of mankind. We will always be a defender of world peace, a contributor to global development and an upholder of international order. And we will work with all countries to build a community with a shared future for mankind.
Ambassador Zheng added that the year 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of ambassadorial diplomatic relations between our two countries. The history of our relationship has made it very clear: For China-Britain relations to fare well, mutual understanding is the precondition, mutual trust is the foundation, and proper management of our differences is the key. Clinging to ideological bias and creating divisions and confrontations are against the trend of history and would do all harm and no good to anyone. Peaceful development and win-win cooperation are the right way forward. Given our different national conditions, China and the UK should pursue common development on the basis of mutual respect and work for win-win results by seeking common ground. Standing at the new historical juncture, China and the UK should take the opportunity of celebrating the 50th anniversary of our ambassadorial diplomatic relations and keep to the right direction of dialogue and cooperation. We should step up dialogue and communication, enhance understanding and trust, resist disruptions, and expand our mutually-beneficial cooperation and friendly exchanges, so as to make sure our bilateral ties will stay on the right track, achieve steady and sustained development, and bring more benefits to the peoples of both countries.
In closing, Ambassador Zheng said the Chinese New Year is drawing near, and it will be followed by the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics. This is a doubly joyous occasion! China has the confidence and capability to present to the world a streamlined, safe, and splendid Olympics. He wished athletes from China, the UK and the rest of the world excellent performance. He believed that Beijing 2022 will be a splendid display of the Olympic spirit of Higher, Faster, Stronger -Together! In the spirit of the tiger, he called for all guests to strive forward in confidence and courage and promote the sound and steady development of China-UK cooperation.
Lord Mandelson looked back at his endeavour to promote China's further integration into the global economy, noting that more than any other event, China's accession to the WTO has shaped its relationship with the world. He said that while the economic relationship between the West and China has been strengthened, it is difficult to say the same about the political relationship. He looked forward to the joint efforts of all sectors in the new year to find greater common ground, with both sides being able to accommodate each other more and promote joint development.
Sir Douglas spoke highly of China's important contribution to global growth and shared prosperity. He said the Year of the Tiger is characterised by strength and courage, characteristics that the global community need to embrace collectively to address the shared challenges including climate change. A framework of global cooperation will be needed to set aside geopolitical rivalry and promote resource pooling and international coordination. He wished all the success to the Winter Olympics in Beijing and the second phase of COP 15 on Biodiversity, which would bring the world together in the spirit of friendship, cooperation and mutual interest. Cooperation and collaboration will be strengthened and friendships will be stronger as the UK and China celebrates the 50th anniversary of the full diplomatic relations.
Chairman Perry recalled the history of the Icebreakers' celebration of the Chinese New Year and expressed his delight at the growing community who care about and support the UK-China relationship. He pointed out that the economic and trade cooperation between the UK and China is good and promising, with trade and investment between the two sides continued to rise against the backdrop of the epidemic. The Icebreakers will continue the work to understand and explain China better and help with business cooperation between the UK and China.
Aglan talked about his experience of film making in Yunnan Province, China, and his understanding of China’s philosophy of ecological civilization. He said that Chinese culture emphasizes that humans can live in harmony with the nature. China is drawing on the wisdom of her ancestor and attaches great importance to build the ecological civilization. The 15th United Nation’s Conference on Biodiversity could not be in better hands than China.
Guests expressed their wishes to the Chinese people for a happy Year of the Tiger, a successful Beijing Winter Olympic Games and the healthy development of China-UK relations and also expressed their readiness to contribute to enhancing mutual understanding between the two peoples and promoting exchanges and cooperation in various fields.
The performances at the reception by Chinese and British artists -- Colourful Cloud Chasing the Moon, Jasmine Flower, I Have a Dream and Brindisi by Verdi -- were warmly appreciated by the guests.
