Director General Grossi of IAEA,

Executive Secretary Floyd of the Preparatory Commission of CTBTO,

Deputy Director General Thatchaichawalit of UNOV，

Deputy to the DG and Managing Director Haidara of UNIDO,

Distinguished Permanent Representatives, Ambassadors,

Hon. Bai Yugang, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee,

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,

It is a great pleasure to be with you all on the 2023 Vienna United Nations Chinese Language Day! The theme of this year's Vienna United Nations Chinese Language Day is "ShanDong, Home of Confucius, Hub of the Belt & Road— A Real Stories of the Global Civilization Initiative". More than 2000 years ago, Confucius, a great philosopher from Shandong, China, wrote on a bamboo slip, "Gentlemen seek harmony in diversity". This not only embodies the inner character of Chinese culture but also reflects the Chinese conception of the world order. Since ancient times, Shandong, as the meeting point of the Silk Road and the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road, has introduced Chinese culture, represented by Confucianism founded by Confucius, to the world. This is indeed a wonderful story of exchanges and mutual appreciation among different cultures. After 100 years of arduous exploration and practice in modern times, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese path to modernization has brought new life and vitality to the broad and profound Chinese civilization, contributing more Chinese wisdom and Chinese strength to the peace and prosperity of the world, and the development and progress of humanity.

The Silk Road spreads across time, space, and different civilizations. More than 2000 years after the ancient silk routes flourished, the story of cultural exchanges continues. In 2013, President Xi Jinping proposed a major initiative to work together to build the Silk Road Economic Belt and The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Over the past 10 years, the Belt and Road Initiative has made positive progress based on the principle of working jointly through consultation to meet the interests of all. It has promoted almost a trillion dollars of investment, brought more than 3000 cooperation projects, created 420,000 jobs for countries along the route, and lifted nearly 40 million people out of poverty.

The story of Shandong conveys the spirit of China, and China belongs to the world. The protagonist of today's story, Shandong Province, has been deeply involved in the work of the Belt and Road Initiative for the past 10 years and made fruitful achievements. Today's Shandong, with its brilliant culture, rich history, strong economy, and dynamic energy, is not only a vivid embodiment of Chinese civilization but also an epitome of China's high-quality development. We sincerely recommend and warmly welcome you all to visit Shandong and other places in China, to look and feel by yourselves the colorful, vivid, multifaceted, real, and lovely China.

Excellencies, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,

China has always been committed to the UN-centered international system and firmly supports the United Nations to play an important role in international affairs. As one of the six official languages of the United Nations and one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, the Chinese language actively delivers the voice and ideas of the UN to the world, making a positive contribution to the effective functioning of the UN, the communication across different countries around the world, and the promotion of multilateralism. The wide use of Chinese in the UN and other multilateral platforms is also the epitome of the deepening cooperation between China with the UN.

Not long ago, President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Civilization Initiative, advocating inheritance and innovation of civilizations, respect for the diversity of civilizations, an approach to different civilizations featuring equality, mutual learning, dialogue, and mutual accommodation, the values common to all humanity, and robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation. Standing at a new historical starting point, let’s always adhere to genuine multilateralism and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. Let’s work together to be activists in maintaining the diversity of civilizations, promoters of people-to-people exchanges and cooperation, and doers of global open development. Let’s make a joint effort for new and greater contributions to the noble cause of advancing peace and human progress, the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the building of a human community with a shared future.

Once again, thank you for participating in today’s event. I wish the 2023 Vienna United Nations Chinese Language Day a great success!