Your Excellency Dame Marguerite Pindling, former Governor-General of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas,
The Hon. Brain Moree, Chief Justice,
The Hon. Jeffrey Lloyd, Minister of Education，
The Hon. Cabinet Ministers,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear friends,
Good Evening!
Welcome to the 2020 Spring Festival Reception hosted by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. This year is the Year of the Rat in Chinese Lunar calendar. In the Chinese zodiac culture, the Rat ranks first，implying agility and tenacity. On the occasion of the Rat Year, on behalf of the Chinese Embassy in The Bahamas, I wish everyone present, all overseas Chinese Bahamians, staff of Chinese enterprises in The Bahamas, and our Bahamian friends a happy and prosperous new year.
Ladies and gentleman,
For China, 2019 is a year of national celebration and of building on past achievements to forge into the future. We warmly celebrated the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Over the 70 years，under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, China has undergone enormous changes and achieved brilliant progresses as witnessed by the whole world. The overall strength of China has grown steadily, the living standards of its people have been improved significantly and the international status has risen considerably. The Chinese nation has ushered in a great leap forward from standing up and getting rich to becoming strong.
In the past year, under the strong leadership of Central Committee of the Communist Party of China with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core, the Chinese Government adheres to the guideline of making progress while maintaining stability, and firmly practices the new development concepts, the Chinese economy continued to maintain a sound momentum of steady progress. The GDP of China is expected to exceed 14 trillion US dollars and the per capita GDP will reach 10,000 US dollars. Over 11 million urban and rural jobs have been created, and more than 10 million rural residents have been lifted out of poverty. The Long March 5 Yao III carrier rocket was successfully launched, the Xuelong 2 made its first voyage to Antarctica, and 5G network was accelerated to commercial use.
In the past year, we successfully held the fourth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The Plenum made a comprehensive summary of the core connotation, achievements, and remarkable advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and China's governance system. It put forward for the first time the overarching goal of upholding and improving the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and modernizing China's system and capacity for governance, thus laying a stronger institutional foundation for realizing national rejuvenation.
Ladies and gentleman,
The Bahamas is an important country in the Caribbean region and an important partner of China. Over the past year, China-Bahamas relations have developed smoothly, the two countries have maintained frequent high-level exchanges, resulting in the consolidation of mutual political trust. Last year, the delegation from the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China, headed by Vice-Chairman Dr. Cai Dafeng successfully visited The Bahamas. Dr. Cai held talks with the Hon. Halson Moultrie, Speaker of the House of Assemby and the Hon. Peter Turnquest, Deputy Prime Minister respectively. During the visit of the delegation from Hunan Province of China to The Bahamas, the two sides reached consensus on cooperation in agriculture, education and media. Bahamas officials also attended the China-Caribbean Conference on BRI Implementation, China-Latin America and Caribbean Think Tanks Forum, and China-Latin America and Caribbean Infrastructure Forum hosted by the Chinese side.
Steady progress has been made in economic and trade cooperation. In 2019, China and The Bahamas have signed three important agreements, namely the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation, the Protocol on the Export of Live Lobster from The Bahamas to China and the Agreement on Civil Aviation Transportation between both countries. The first batch of Bahamian live lobsters has been shipped to China not long ago. China-Bahamas practical cooperation has yielded tangible results. In addition, the Pointe project is moving toward completion smoothly, the Baha Mar Resort is playing a positive role in creating jobs and promoting the development of tourism industry in The Bahamas.
People-to-people exchanges are deepening, 14 Bahamian students have been awarded full scholarship from the Chinese Government to advance their education in China, and more than 20 people went to China to attend short-term training programs.
The development of China-Bahamas relations can not only be attributed to the vigorous promotion of the two governments, but also the active support and hard work of Bahamian Chinese, Chinese enterprises in The Bahamas and our Bahamian friends. On behalf of the Chinese Embassy in the Bahamas, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you, for your efforts in promoting China-Bahamas relations. In the New Year, my colleagues and I will make joint efforts, together with you to make greater contributions to our bilateral relations.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Last year, The Bahamas suffered the strongest Hurricane in history, which had caused severe life and property losses in Grand Bahama and Abaco. When disaster struck, help came from all sides. So far, the Chinese Government and the Chinese Embassy have provided more than 600,000 US dollars in relief materials and cash assistance to support the Bahamian government's disaster relief efforts. The Chinese companies and communities in The Bahamas also voluntarily donated cash and materials. We know that post-hurricane reconstruction is one of the main challenges facing the Bahamas government at present. The Chinese government is willing to provide assistance within its capacity to the post-hurricane reconstruction work. We believe that the government of The Bahamas and people will be able to overcome difficulties and rebuild a beautiful home.
The year 2020 will be a key milestone in the course of China's national rejuvenation, China will realize a moderately prosperous society in all respects and achieve its first centenary goal. China will unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development, jointly promote Belt and Road Initiative, work to build a community with a shared future for mankind, and make unremitting efforts to create a better future for mankind. In the new year, we hope that China and The Bahamas can continue to deepen bilateral exchanges and cooperation in various fields, enhance the welfare of our two peoples, and work together to create an even better future!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Now, may I propose a toast,
To the continuous development of China-Bahamas relations,
To the everlasting friendship between our two peoples,
To the health of all guests present tonight,
Cheers!