Geneva, 20 April 2022

Director-General Ms. Valovaya,

Mr. Shen Haixiong, President of China Media Group,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear friends,

In this beautiful season when flowers begin to bloom and everything is revived, the Permanent Mission of China in Geneva, the UN Office at Geneva, and China Media Group jointly hold the 2022 UN Chinese Language Day and the Second CMG Overseas Chinese Language Video Festival, in celebration of the 2022 UN Chinese Language Day with friends at home and abroad together.

China is a country with a long history.The Chinese civilization passesfrom one generation to another over 5,000 yearsin an endless succession. As the carrier of Chinese culture and civilization, Chinese language plays an important and indispensable role in inheriting Chinese culture and civilization. Values such as harmony between humanity and nature, sense of honesty and honor, harmony in diversity, and that the whole world is a community, have been handed down through Chinese language to this day. They have profoundly influenced Chinese people’s outlook on the world, life and values.

China is a country that embraces innovation and changes. Ancient Chinese sayings go, “Even an established nation like Zhou regards self-renewal as its mission. ” “If you can improve yourself in a day, do so each day, forever building on improvement.” Innovation is the distinctive characteristic of the Chinese nation. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, China is developing rapidly with each passing day, and the Chinese people are confidently striding towards the journey of pursuing a better life and future.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Dear friends,

Without understanding the splendid Chinese culture, it is hard to really understand the unique spiritual world of the Chinese people. Similarly, without understanding the development trend of modern China, it is difficult to understand China's present and future . This is why we make “China Chic” the theme of the UN Chinese Language Day celebration this year.

So, what is “China Chic”? Different people may have different views. For example, the biggest highlight of the recent Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics attracted more and more Chinese people to actively participate in the ice and snow sports. Young athletes like Su Yiming and Gu Ailing have shown the world the spirit of Chinese young people who are open, embracing, pioneering, and striving for the better. Scientific and technological progress as well as the cultural innovations have become powerful driving forces of China's development. The concept of green, low-carbon, recycling and sustainable development has become the mainstream consensus of China's economic and social development. China shares weal and woe with the world, and remains ready to work together with others to build a community with a shared future for mankind. All of these can be regarded as the current “China Chic”.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Dear friends,

In this changing and challenging era, you can always find fresh stories in China, a country that is both ancient and modern, mature and vibrant. I hope that the UN Chinese Language Day will continue to serve as the window and bridge, and help more foreign friends to have a better understanding of China, love Chinese culture and follow China's development. I also hope that when you tell the world what China really looks like, you do not only share the wonderful Chinese stories from your point of view, but also help promote cultural exchanges among countries and people.

Finally, I would like to thank the UN Office at Geneva and China Media Group for their support to this event, and my gratitude also goes to friends from all walks of life for your interest and contribution.

Thank you very much.