Your Excellency, Mr. Abdi Hashi Abdullahi, Speaker of the Upper House, Mr. Gulaid, Deputy Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia,
Distinguished guests,
Excellencies Ministers, State Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Members of Parliament,
Diplomatic Corps and Representatives of International Organizations,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear friends,
Good Morning. Today we are here to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. On behalf of the Chinese embassy, I would like to warmly welcome all distinguished guests.
Seven decades ago, the Chinese people established a new China through arduous struggle and dauntless fight. So far, China has become the World’s second largest economy, with GDP more then $13.6 trillion, has met the basic living needs of its 1.3 billion-plus people, the life expectancy increased nearly to 77. China has established a sound industrialization system, with 900 million labor force, 170 million highly educated and skilled personnel resources and the largest middle-income group in the world. Since the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI) proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, more than 150 countries and international organizations with China have signed over 170 documents on the BRI cooperation, the trade volume of China and the countries along the routes of the BRI is over $6 trillion, and the investment to the countries is over $90 billion, China and the countries along the routes of the BRI jointly constructed more than 80 overseas economic and trade cooperation zones, and turn over the national tax fee of about $2 billion and created about 300,000 jobs for the countries, this is a strong support for the UN Millennium Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The BRI originated in China, but it has benefited countries well beyond its borders. China is the driving force of global development, China has contributed on average to over 30% of global growth for many consecutive years with ranking first in the world.
Over the past seven decades, China-Africa cooperation has yielded fruitful results. In 2018, China-Africa trade volume reached $ 2014.19 billion, and Africa’s exports to China increased by 30%. China has maintained its position as Africa’s largest trading partner for 10 consecutive years. China’s non-financial direct investment flow to Africa amounted to $3.16 billion, China’s investment in Africa totals more than $110 billion. China has helped Africa build more than 10,000 kilometers of highways, 6,000 kilometers of railways, 20 airports and terminal buildings, 30 bridges and ports, 80 power projects, and about 150 stadiums, conference centers and parliament buildings. China has built at least 25 economic and trade cooperation zones in Africa, also helped develop human resources for Africa to train hundreds of thousands of professionals and technicians in various fields, and built more than 300 people’s livelihood facilities such as hospitals and schools throughout Africa. In accordance with the relevant resolution of the UN Security Council, since December 2008, Chinese navy has send escort fleet to the Gulf of Aden and the waters of Somalia, so far total 31 escort fleets, 100 vessels have been dispatched, 7000 Chinese and foreign ships have been convoyed.
China’s remarkable achievement is the wise leadership of the CPC. Since the founding of the CPC, epoch-making change has taken place in China. Without the CPC, there would be no the new China, no prosperity and strength of the new China, no contribution of the Chinese people to the peaceful development of the world, nor the great development and prosperity of China-Africa relations. No political party in the world can lead over 1.3 billion Chinese people to become the world’s second largest economy. China’s achievements are that the Chinese people, under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, has worked hard on 9.6 million square kilometres of land. In the long-term practice of revolution, construction and reform, the Chinese people has found a path to develop the socialism with Chinese characteristics that suits to China’s actual conditions, and will unswervingly realize on our path towards the Two Centenary Goals and the Chinese Dream of National Rejuvenation.
China is a builder of the world peace, advocates “peaceful cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning, mutual benefit and win-win”, and safeguards the world peace, stability and development through its own development and prosperity. China adheres an independent foreign policy of peace, actively pursues peaceful and common development, upholds the multilateral trading system. China will unswervingly work with the international community to build a community with a shared future for mankind, and make greater contributions to the cause of mankind progress.
China and Somalia enjoy a long friendship. China and Somalia uphold the principles of mutual respect, equality, mutual trust and mutual benefit. We are pleased to see that under the leadership of the Somali government, remarkable results have been achieved in the political, economic and security fields. We hope that all Somali people will work together for the revitalization and development of the country, make full use of Somalia’s great development potential in agriculture, fisheries, tourism, telecommunications, wind and solar energy, including Somalia’s unique culture, longest coastline and geographical advantages, and so on. China firmly supports Somalia’s peace, reconstruction and development; China actively encourages Chinese enterprises to invest in Somalia, and now Chinese enterprises have invested in Somalia; China is willing to transfer technology with superior production capacity to help Somalia enhance its ability to self-develop its economy. China will continue to work hard to strengthen cooperation with the Somalia, and raise the current trade volume of $450 million of the two countries to a new height. China will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Somalia and help Somalia develop its human resources. China is ready to work with the international community to push Somalia forward.
In the light of your concerns, I would like to introduce the situation in Hong Kong. In the past three months, the demonstrations on the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill have recently veered off the normal track. With the instigation and indulgence of external forces and anti-China forces attempting to destabilize Hong Kong, radical forces and violent offenders in Hong Kong flagrantly disrupted social order, vandalized public facilities, attacked the police and left a trail of smashed or burned items all over the city. These behaviors have gone far beyond the scope of marches or assemblies. They trampled on the bottom line of morality, crossed the bottom line of rule of law, and challenged the bottom line of “one country, two systems”. Ending violence and chaos and restoring order has become the widest consensus and the strongest appeal of all social sectors in Hong Kong.
The Chinese central government firmly supports the SAR government in governing by law, supports the Hong Kong police in strict and just law enforcement, and supports the Hong Kong judicial organs in bringing violent criminals to justice according to law, and firm opposition to that the Individual National Parliament passed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. This act is in disregard of the vile behavior of Hong Kong’s radical and violent forces, the appeal from various sectors of the Hong Kong society, and the basic norms governing international relations, confuses black and white in disregard of facts, blatantly backs the Hong Kong violent radicals up and grossly interferes in China’s internal affairs.
Since Hong Kong’s return to the motherland 20 years ago , the policies of “one country, two systems”, Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong and a high degree of autonomy have been implemented, and Hong Kong residents’ rights and freedoms have been fully safeguarded in accordance with law. It must be pointed out that Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability are in the interests of all parties. The behaviors of passing the above-mentioned Hong Kong-related bill and openly endorsing Hong Kong’s radical and violent forces will further mess up Hong Kong, fully reveal the ill intentions of the individual forces to contain China’s development. Hong Kong belongs to China and its affairs are purely China’s domestic affairs. No foreign government, force, organization or individual has the right to interfere. No one should underestimate China’s firm resolve and determination to safeguard its national sovereignty, security and development interests, to implement “one country, two systems”, and to safeguard Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability.
In addition, on the issue of Xinjiang. In the 1990s, overseas extremism and terrorism carried out thousands of violent terrorist incidents in Xinjiang, seriously undermining the stability and peace of Xinjiang, and wantonly trampling on the rights to life, health, property and development. To this end, Xinjiang has taken a series of anti-terrorism measures, such as vocational skills education and training, and fundamentally eliminated the breeding ground of terrorism and extremism. The important experience and enlightenment that China has accumulated from its own anti-terrorism and international anti-terrorism efforts are that prevention is the first step. Through training and education, we can help a small number of people who are eroded and affected by extremism, get rid of terrorism and extremist ideas, and prevent them from becoming perpetrators and victims of terrorism, rather than after them becoming terrorists and endangering others and society. In fact, it is also inspired by the deradicalization practices of some Western countries.
Lately individual country, in disregard of China’s opposition, has been using religion and human rights as a cover to slander and smear China’s Xinjiang policies and interfere in China’s internal affairs again and again. By holding the so-called panel discussion during the UNGA, it is going further down the wrong path. China firmly opposes the wrong rhetoric and actions, urges to cancel the relevant event, stop making wanton comments on Xinjiang, and stop interfering in others’ domestic affairs in the name of human rights.
The issues in Xinjiang are not about religion or human rights, but about fighting separatism and violent terrorism. The preventive counterterrorism and deradicalization measures have produced significant effects, with not a single violent terrorist attack for almost three years. People of all ethnic groups all support the government’s policies and measures in Xingjiang. Xinjiang’s fight against separatism and violent terrorism is a fight between good and evil, between humanity and brutality, between rule of law and violence. It deserves every understanding, respect and support from the international community.
Since 2015, China has released seven white papers on Xinjiang with detailed information covering such areas as counter-terrorism and de-radicalization, vocational education and training, progress in human rights and religious freedom. Not long ago, 50 countries co-signed a letter to the president of the UN Human Rights Council and explicitly commended the progress in China’s human rights cause and its effective counterterrorism and deradicalization efforts. Almost a thousand foreign diplomats, officials and journalists have visited Xinjiang recently. They all recognized and spoke positively of the local efforts to fight and prevent terrorism in accordance with law. There has also been wide media coverage on that. Indivitual country chooses not to see China’s efforts and progress in counterterrorism and deradicalization, and not to hear the voice of justice on Xinjiang by relevant countries and individuals, this is extremely wrong, we in China will continue to manage our affairs properly and implement our Xinjiang policies to ensure its sustained development. Xinjiang continues to enjoy stability, prosperity, ethnic unity and social harmony. That is there for all to see. All lies will crumble before the facts.
Finally, may China and Somalia be friendly from generation to generation!
