Respected H. E. Foreign Minister Mr. Krishna,

Respected Dr. Danna Schuppert,

Respected Chairwoman Mme. Gen Ying, Chairman Mr. Long Yuxiang, Vice Chairman Mr. Zhang Zongying, President Mr. Su Shishu

Dear diplomats and guests, Good evening!

It is my honor to attend this inauguration of Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition and the performance entitled China and India Meet in Harmony through Culture. I am very glad that H. E. Foreign Minister Mr. Krishna and many Indian friends and colleagues from diplomat corps in New Delhi spare their precious time to join us here. And it is especially pleasant to see so many renowned Chinese painting and calligraphy masters gathered here in New Delhi. This inauguration is indeed an occasion of grand gathering of dear friends and eminence. I would like to, on behalf of the Chinese Embassy in India, extend warm welcome to all the distinguished guests.

Brush painting and calligraphy are ancient Chinese arts, they are treasures of Chinese civilization of thousands of years. Brush strokes with different patterns of Chinese ink make the elegant and expressive art works more impressive than color painting. Just as oil on canvas and sculpture dominant the western arts, brush painting and calligraphy embody the essence of Chinese fine arts.

Thanks to the joint efforts of the 21st Century China and India Center for Culture and Communication and China International Cultural Communication Center, and with the support of Indian friends, such as Taj Hotel Resorts and Palaces and TaTa Group, a number of outstanding Chinese paintings and calligraphies are brought to New Delhi for display, and a group of renowned Chinese painter and calligrapher are here to show their superb artistry, which surly will be an art feast for all of us. Tonight, we are also going to enjoy an extravaganza performed by special actors. The performance will be not only magnificent but also moving and touching. I believe, the exhibition and performance will prove to be a remarkable culture event between China and India.

China and India are two ancient civilizations. The culture interaction between two countries can be dated back into ancient time. The Chinese monk Fa Xian (Fa-Hsien) and Xuan Zang (Hiuen Tsang) travelled to India and brought back Buddhist scriptures. The Indian scholar Kumarajiva translated sutras into Chinese and Indian monk Bodhidharma became the first patriarch of the Shaolin Monastery in China. These are vivid testimonies of bilateral exchanges in history. Today, in 21st century, China and India, the two new emerging economies, are carrying on such exchanges and expand in a broader sense further. We are happy to see that China and India relationship has witnessed rapid progress in all round manner in recent years, marked by sustained growth of bilateral cooperation in political, economic, military, cultural fields and people to people exchanges. Currently, the China and India relation has reached a new height with new opportunity. We should approach our bilateral relation from strategic and long term perspective. We will strengthen exchanges at various levels, enhance mutual trust between peoples, deepen mutual beneficial cooperation to pursue the win-win situation. In this respect, cultural and art exchanges play a unique and irreplaceable role. Next year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China and India diplomatic relation. We will hold "Chinese Festival" and "India Festival" respectively. I hope there would be more events like today to provide platforms for bilateral exchange and contribute more to the friendship between China and India.

China and India, both cherish the affection to each other. I sincerely hope that China and India, these two splendid human civilizations, would complement each other for the brighter future and make their shares of contribution to international peace and development.

May I wish the Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition and Show complete success! Thank you!