(February 2nd, Palais des Nations)

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends,

Good afternoon! On behalf of Ambassador Li Chenggang to WTO, Ambassador Shen Jian to the Conference on Disarmament and in my own name, I wish to welcome all of you here today in the Palais des Nations for the celebration of the Chinese Spring Festival, the year of the dragon.

According to Chinese culture, dragon is a symbol of strength, wisdom, courage and fortune. As the most important traditional festival in Chinese culture, Spring Festival is not only a time for family reunion, but also embodies core values of the Chinese culture: peace, friendship and harmony. It is gratifying to note that this festival is celebrated in many parts of the world, and was listed as a UN floating holiday last December by the 78th UN General Assembly. It’s such a happy occasion to share the joy of the Spring Festival with you all. We are very much looking forward to working together with you to embrace cultural diversity and promote mutual learning among civilizations.

President Xi Jinping stressed in his new yearmessage, “while pursuing its own development, China is also embracing the world by fulfilling its responsibility”. As one of the founding members of the United Nations, China will continue to advance its modernization drive through high-quality development. In the meantime, we will continue to further promote multilateral cooperation with the United Nations playing a leading role, and make more contribution to world peace and common development.

Now I wish to share a couple of old sayings: “The road ahead is bumpy, but the light at the end of the tunnel will eventually come”; “Where there is a will, there is a way”; “Unity is strength”. Indeed, we have to face various difficulties and challenges in this world and paddle in the same direction as we are in the same boat. Life is not easy. If we can light more candles rather than complain too much about the darkness, we could make a difference. We need to be more optimistic about our future, as peace and development remain the common aspiration of us all. Proper solutions need to be found through dialogue and cooperation. This is the only viable and enduring approach. Let’s make joint efforts for the early realization of the Sustainable Development Goals, and build a better world as envisaged in the UN Charter.

Please enjoy the program today and wish you a happy and prosperous year of the Dragon.

Thank you very much for your attention.