On September 24, 2019, the Mission of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the European Union (EU) and Chinese Embassy in Belgium held a grand National Day reception to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the PRC. Ambassador Zhang Ming, Head of the Mission of the PRC to the EU together with his wife and Cao Zhongming, Chinese ambassador to Belgium, welcomed the guests despite the drizzle. Phil Hogan, EU Commissioner for Agriculture & Rural Development; Tibor Navracsics, EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport; Belgian Minister of State Gabriels; Papadimoulis, Vice President of the European Parliament; and General Claudio Graziano, Chairman of the European Union Military Committee among other officials of the EU and Belgian government; Members of the European Parliament; representatives of Chinese foreign agencies in the EU and Belgium, international organizations, multinational companies, think-tanks, media, Chinese-funded establishments, overseas Chinese, and international students totaling 800 attended the reception.
For the reception red lanterns were hung high, imparting a festive atmosphere, and the giant background that featured the motifs highlighting the 70th founding anniversary of the PRC was very solemn and eye-catching. Ambassador Zhang Ming said in the speech that the 70 years is just a twinkle of an eye but has nurtured tremendous changes on the Chinese land. Under the firm leadership of the Communist Party of China, Chinese people have written magnificent epics, and made the country once impoverished and enfeebled thrive with renewed vitality. Over the past seven decades, China has been persevering in pursuing a Chinese path, and has blazed a socialist road with Chinese characteristics that conforms to the actual national conditions, reflects people's wishes and responds to the requirements of the times. China always upholds people's interests, resolutely defends state sovereignty, safety and development interests, and always aims to materialize people's longing for a better life. China remains committed to peaceful development and pursues peaceful development under the prerequisite of observing the current international rules.
Ambassador Zhang Ming pointed out that as the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership develops in a deep-going way, China and the EU become inseparable with the interests of the two sides interwoven, which brings substantial interests to the peoples on both sides and increasingly accentuates the strategic and global significance of the partnership between the two sides. Belgium, as a founding member of the EU, plays a great role in advancing the China-EU ties. In the coming November, Princess Astrid of Belgium will head a large economic and trade delegation to visit China, which is expected to inject new vitality to China-Belgium relations.
Ambassador Zhang Ming emphasized that win-win cooperation is always the mainstream of the China-EU and China-Belgium ties. The two sides are expected to do a good job centering on the aspects, as captured by the three keywords of opening-up, greenness and innovation, under the new circumstances, so as to advance the negotiations on investment agreement and on GI agreement, work together to cope with the global climate change, and foster a more friendly innovation environment regarding 5G communication, artificial intelligence and other fields. As thus, we will translate confidence into action and expectation into reality, to usher in an even better future for the PRC and the China-EU ties as well as China-Belgium ties.
Commissioner Hogan, Commissioner Navracsics, and Belgian Minister of State Gabriels successively made speeches, congratulating on the 70th founding anniversary of the PRC and speaking highly of the great achievements made by New China. Hogan indicated that it is very significant for the EU and China to continue to deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership and work together to cope with global challenges, and that the European side wishes to complete the negotiations with the Chinese side on investment agreement and on the GI agreement on an early date. And then he proposed viable solutions for maintaining multilateralism and free trade. Next year we will have the 45th founding anniversary of the EU-China ties. The new lineup of the European Commission is willing to further deepen cooperation with China and push the EU-China ties to make new progress. Navracsics said the friendship and mutual trust between the peoples is the foundation of the EU-China cooperation. During the past five years, the EU-China high-level cultural communication and exchange mechanism has been faring smoothly as the cooperation between the two sides is increasingly close and delivers rich results. The European side wishes to embrace even closer cultural ties with the Chinese side so as to lay a solid foundation for the bilateral cooperation in diverse fields. Gabriels indicated he has visited China 30 times and he himself is an eyewitness to the huge changes in China and has developed deep friendship with Chinese people. The "Belt and Road" Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping provides new opportunities for promoting the communication and cooperation between China and Belgium or Europe at large.
At the reception Ambassador Zhang Ming and Ambassador Cao Zhongming together with other guests visited the international tour exhibition themed on The 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China. At the reception were displayed such important publications as Xi Jinping: The Governance of China and Up and Out of Poverty, and were played the engrossing video clips like Wild China and XXIV Olympic Winter Games. In a light-hearted and friendly atmosphere the friends old and new from both China and the EU had cordial talks. They praised China for its great achievements made over the past seven decades since the founding of New China; applauded China's important role in promoting the world peace, advancing common progress, and safeguarding fairness, justice and international order; and wished China and the EU, China and Belgium would continue to strengthen pragmatic cooperation in all fields so as to make new contributions to the world peace, stability and prosperity.
