Kia ora! Tena Koutou Tena Koutou Tena Tatou Katua,

Honorable Mayor Phil Mauger,

Honorable Member of parliament, Duncan Webb, Gerry Brownlee,

Honorable Sir David Carter,

Honorable Mayor Marie Black, Neil Brown, Tim Cadogan, Deputy Mayor Steven Gillett,

Distinguished City Councilor Bob Mugford, Tyrone Fields, Andrei Moore, Mark Peters and all the guests from other city stakeholders,  

Members from the friendship societies,

Representatives from consular corps, 

Ladies and gentlemen,

And my fellow Chinese, 

Good evening !

Warmly Welcome you to join us to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and New Zealand and the 125th anniversary of  Rewi Alley’s birth.  First of all, on behalf of the Chinese Consulate General in Christchurch, I'd like to extend my gratitude to all the guests, thank you for coming, I know many of you come from afar. 

Today, the Christchurch Arts Center is filled with happiness. As you can see, a China-New Zealand Friendship Carnaval is held here. Just now I accompanied some guests to look around the photo exhibition with precious pictures reflecting the history of cooperation between China and New Zealand over the past 50 years and the legendary life of Rewi Alley. Very impressive!  Here, my sincere thanks go to the Chinese communities and volunteers who help us organize today’s cultural and entertainment activities. After the dinner, a wonderful performance is prepared. Hope you enjoy it.

Today, December the 2nd is the day when Rewi Alley was born. He is an old friend of Chinese people and an important founder of China-New Zealand friendship. Now, we gather here in order to commemorate Rewi Alley, and express our respect to him.

Rewi Alley is very famous in China and in 2009 he is voted one of the Top Ten International Friends of China by the Chinese people. 

He came to Shanghai in 1927 and passed away in Beijing in 1987. He initiated Industrial Cooperatives, known as Gung Ho in Honghu, Hubei Province, to provide economic support for China's War of Resistance against Japanese aggression. He established Baili School and pioneered vocational education in China and trained a large number of students for the building of the New China. He never married, but he adopted several orphans and took many more kids into his loving care. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, he was dedicated to introducing China and Chinese culture to New Zealand and the world. He has never been rich, but donated his lifelong collection of precious cultural relics and books. On his death, Rewi Alley had willed his remains left in Shandan, Gansu Province, where he worked more than 10 years. 

Rewi Alley was also a writer and a translator. Through his writings, translations and speeches, Rewi Alley opened a window for Kiwis to understand China and Chinese culture. He also inspired and initiated the establishment of the New Zealand-China Friendship Society, an essential platform for friendly exchanges between our two peoples. On the official website of the New Zealand-China Friendship Society(NZCFS), it described Alley as follows: The most famous New Zealander in China. He was the founder and inspiration for the NZ China Friendship Society, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this year. Rewi Alley dedicated 60 years of his life to his adopted country, while remaining a New Zealander at heart. 

President Xi Jinping said that Alley lived and worked with the Chinese people through thick and thin for 60 years, building a bridge of friendship between the two peoples of China and New Zealand.

The man is gone, but his spirit lives on. Alley left a precious spiritual wealth to both China and New Zealand, which deserves to be carried forward and passed on in the new era. On October 20th, our Consulate General and the Chinese Embassy co-organized a symposium to commemorate Rewi Alley’s spirit and celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which many of you attended. Afterwards, I accompanied Ambassador Wang Xiaolong to Springfield, where Alley was born, and to Amberley, where he attended his primary school, to share the stories and spirit of Rewi Alley with the local children.  What touched me most is that they listened so carefully and interacted with us so enthusiastically.

I am happy and honored to be working in Rewi Alley’s hometown, where my colleagues and I are always inspired by his spirit, his noble character, his infinite passion, and his remarkable talent, all of which encourage us to work hard to advance China-New Zealand friendship.

This year also marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and New Zealand, an important milestone. Looking back to the past 50 years, both sides have made great efforts to develop our bilateral relations, thus made great progress and brought tangible benefits to our two countries and peoples.

Over the past 50 years, we have continuously deepened political mutual trust, strengthened economic and trade cooperation, and set many records in China's relations with developed countries. 

On Nov 18th, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern met during 29th APEC Economic Leaders’ Informal Meeting. Both leaders agreed that the two sides should take the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties as an opportunity to take stock of the past, enhance high-level exchanges and deepen cooperation in such fields as economy and trade, education and climate response. The two sides should work closely with each other to promote peace, stability, development and prosperity in the Asia Pacific and advance the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. We believe that under the guidance of the leaders of the two countries, China-New Zealand relations will maintain healthy and stable development.

Over the past 50 years, our economic and trade cooperation has reaped fruitful results, becoming a corner-stone in our relations. Our bilateral trade increased from 7 million dollars in 1972 to 37.7 billion dollars in 2021. In the first three quarters of this year, our bilateral trade maintained growth momentum and rose by 13.3 percent year-on-year to 29.2 billion dollars, demonstrating once again the depth and resilience of bilateral cooperation.  This year, the RCEP and the Upgrade Protocol of China-New Zealand FTA came into force, giving new momentum to deepen our bilateral practical cooperation.

The Fifth China International Import Expo in Shanghai attracted nearly 50 New Zealand companies. China`s Largest TV channel, known as the CCTV, has repeatedly presented New Zealand products at the CIIE in prime time. What a great advertisement! New Zealand, as a national brand, has a good reputation among the Chinese people, which contributes to the annual increase in New Zealand's export with China, both inside and outside the CIIE. Silver Ferns Farms Company based in the South Island has been participating in the CIIE for five consecutive years. In an interview, its CEO Simon Limmer said that it is so important that the CIIE bring together global businesses and provide them with access to a lucrative Chinese market.

Over the past 50 years, we have continued to deepen our friendship between our two peoples. Since I came here 8 months ago, I have visited many cities and districts in the South Island. What impressed me most was that the friendly cooperation between China and New Zealand has spread to all walks of life. The South Island has as many as 16 pairs of sister city relationships with China, serving as important platforms to enhance bilateral pragmatic cooperation. 

Not long ago, I participated in the Hubei-New Zealand week sister city online conference. The cities as Wuhan, Honghu, Enshi, Huangshi, Huanggang of Hubei Province and Christchurch, Hurunui, Waimakariri, Nelson and Westland, the  5 pairs of sister cities discussed about the development of sister city relations. Though we talked online, I could still feel the desire of both sides for exchanges and cooperation, and the deep friendship of sister cities helping each other in difficult times. 

Pratical cooperation between local cities is an important part of China-New Zealand friendship. Here, I`d like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all of you present here, especially to all the mayors, the city councils for building and promoting these exchange platforms. My thanks also go to the New Zealand China Friendship Society，the local sister city committees, and the Chinese communities for creating a unique bridge between the cities and the peoples of our two countries.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Looking back, China New Zealand friendship has yielded fruitful results. Looking ahead to the next 50 years, we need to bear in mind that the development of our bilateral relations is the result of great efforts across generations from both sides. When President Xi met with Prime Minister Adern, he stressed the importance of preserving and carrying forward Rewi Alley’s spirit. To develop the friendship between our two countries, we need more Rewi Alleys. 

To carry forward Rewi Alley’s spirit, we should learn from his big heart. Alley's persistent pursuit of the just cause for human peace and development is the root cause of his love for China and the Chinese people. Not long ago, the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party successfully concluded. Once again it stated that "Chinese modernization" is modernization along the path of peaceful development. Chinese modernization will not tread the old path of war, colonization, and plunder, but hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation and win-win. Both China and New Zealand pursue independent foreign policy. China is ready to work closely with New Zealand to promote peace, stability, development and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and the world.

To carry forward Rewi Alley’s spirit, we should learn from his spirit of hard work. Alley is a doer. He has a mantra: there is a way. China has a large population and a huge market. New Zealand's green, clean, open, friendly national image and high-quality products are well received in China. We should continue to exert our comparative advantages, deepen exchanges and cooperation in economic and trade, science and technology, education, tourism and other fields, to enrich the content of our cooperation and better benefit the peoples of both countries.

To carry forward Rewi Alley’s spirit, we should learn from his people-based mindset. A Maori proverb says: What is the most important thing? It is people, it is people it is people. Amity between the people holds the key to sound state-to-state relations. In the past two years, the COVID-19 seriously affected our lives and the exchanges between our two countries. But "long distance separates no bosom friends". Friendship can travel across mountains and seas. We are glad that the number of Chinese students coming to south island is increasing recently. Our Consulate-General will continue to do our best to promote people-to-people exchanges between our two countries, encourage the return of Chinese tourists. And we welcome more Kiwi friends to China as well.

Once again, my sincere gratitude goes to all the mayors, Members of Parliament, city councilors and all of the guests present here for your contribution to the relationship between our two countries, as well as for your support and assistance to our Chinese communities, students, enterprises. December 2nd also marks the 11th anniversary of the establishment of our Consulate General. Sincerely thank you all for your strong support to us.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The bright future of the friendship requires our joint efforts. We are looking forward to working closely with you all to promote our friendly cooperation and score new achievements, and thus contribute to the healthy and sound development of the China-New Zealand comprehensive strategic partnership. 

Finally, may I propose a toast,

to the long-live spirit of Rewi Alley,

to the thriving prosperity of our two countries,

to the everlasting friendship between our two peoples,

to the happiness and good health of everyone present here,

Cheers!