Honorable Jesus S. Domingo, Acting Secretary for Foreign Affairs,

Honorable Cabinet Secretaries, Senators, House Representatives, Governors, Mayors and Senior Officials,

Ambassadors and Colleagues from the Diplomatic Corps,

Distinguished Guests,

各位侨领、各位同胞,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good Evening!

It is a joyous moment for us to gather here in celebration of the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. On behalf of the Chinese Embassy to the Philippines, I’d like to extend cordial greetings to all of you, festive congratulations to the compatriots, and sincere gratitude to friends who have been caring and supportive for China’s development.

In the past 74 years, the Communist Party of China has led and united the Chinese people to overcome hardships and face challenges. Our nation has not only stood up, but also become better off, and is growing stronger. Socialism with Chinese Characteristics has entered the new era. The Chinese path to modernization has advanced with a steady pace. A new and big step forward is taken in the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

We follow the people-centered philosophy for quality development. Standing firmly as the second largest economy in the world now, China boasts a 400-million-strong middle-income community, and the livelihood of the people have continued to go up a notch. On the solid foundation of poverty elimination, we are now pushing ahead the overall program of rural development for building prosperous and beautiful countryside. The fundamentals of the Chinese economy remain robust with a 5.5% growth rate year-on-year in the first half of 2023. China remains the “bellwether” of the world economy and the “locomotive” for global growth.

We follow a policy of high-standard opening-up for sharing development opportunities with the rest of the world. China has accelerated the building of a new development pattern, pursued high-quality development and expanded market access. China and ASEAN as a whole have been each other’s biggest trading partner for three consecutive years. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the Belt and Road Initiative . China, as the initiator of building the BRI together, has brought fruitful opportunities to the rest of the world. Over those ten years, more than 3000 cooperation projects have been achieved under the BRI, leveraging a total investment size of nearly a trillion USD and about 420 thousand jobs for countries along the Belt and Road. The 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation will be held in Beijing next month. We welcome participants from around the world including those from the Philippines. China stands ready to work with other countries to broaden and extend the Road of cooperation for the well-being of the globe with the philosophy of consultation, contribution and shared benefit.

We are committed to building a community of shared future for mankind, so as to bring more certainty to world peace and development. President Xi Jinping has put forth successively the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative as guiding concepts for humanity to address the deficit in development, overcome security challenges and enhance mutual learning between civilizations. We have always adhered to the path of peaceful development. Development of China is the growth of the strength for peace and the strength of justice.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Compatriots,

As neighbors joined by the sea, China and the Philippines have themed our relations with friendship. President Marcos paid a successful visit to China early this year. The two presidents of our countries agreed to deepen cooperation in the four key areas of agriculture, infrastructure, energy and people-to-people exchanges. Both believe that our relations should not be defined by the South China Sea issue, the disputes of which must be properly managed through friendly consultations. Their important consensus charts the direction for our bilateral relations. China-Philippines relations are at a key time. It is imperative that we implement the consensus between the heads-of-state, stay firmly in the right direction of our relations and unaffected by irritants, and step up cooperation so as to make sure that such relations will sail through and bring more benefit to our peoples and contribution to regional peace and stability.

Now, please allow me to say a few words in Chinese to our compatriots here:

长期以来，广大在菲华侨华人无私奉献、热心支持祖（籍）国和菲律宾当地建设发展，各展所长、积极推动两国各领域友好交往，为中菲传承友谊、增进互信、扩大合作发挥了不可替代的作用。希望大家继续发挥自身优势，争当促进两国人民相知相亲的友好使者，为中菲关系不断注入正能量。

Dear friends, now an exciting reminder: there’s only a two-day countdown to the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou, China. I’d like to wish great performance and success to athletes from China and the Philippines.      

Now I’d like to wish the People’s Republic of China prosperity and strength.

And a healthy and stable development of China-Philippines relations!

Thank you!