Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good evening!

It’s a great honour to have you here to celebrate the 96th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China.

Over the past 96 years, the PLA has made indelible achievements and important contributions to upholding China’s national sovereignty, security and development interests. Today, the PLA is working hard to achieve its centenary goal under the guidance of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. It is speeding up its transformation into a world-class force to provide strategic support for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

When the world is entangled in intertwined turmoils and transformation, the global economic recovery is sluggish and the geopolitical crises have persisted, the Global Security Initiative put forward by President Xi Jinping in April 2022 advocates a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. It aims to create a new path to security that features dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance and win-win outcome over zero-sum game. It promotes the building of a world that enjoys lasting peace and universal security. This important international public good provided by China has so far received support and appreciation from over 100 countries and regional organizations. China stands ready to join hands with all sides to deepen the implementation of the initiative(GSI) in a bid to maintain world peace and tranquility.

China is committed to peaceful development and pursues a national defense policy that is defensive in nature. No matter how much it develops, China will never seek hegemony, expansion, sphere of influence or arms race. The armed forces of China have always been a staunch force that safeguards world peace, and will continue to carry out international military exchanges and cooperation. They are ready to work with other countries to jointly tackle global security challenges, fulfill their international duties and obligations commensurate with China’s international status, and contribute to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

China and India are the largest developing countries in the world. Both of us are at a crucial stage of development and rejuvenation. Our common interests far outweigh our differences. A sound and stable China-India relationship not only serves the interests of the two countries, but also contributes to peace, stability and development in the region and the world. China and India should continue to make efforts to implement the important consensus reached by President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stabilize the China-India relations, adhere to the strategic judgement made by two leaders that “China and India should not be a threat to each other, but an opportunity for each other’s development”. We should grasp the trend of multi-polarization and economic globalization, stick to the right direction of the bilateral relations, enhance political mutual trust, overcome disturbances and difficulties, and strengthen multilateral coordination, so as to push the China-India relations back to the track of healthy and stable development at an early date.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to propose a toast,

to the 96th anniversary of the founding of the PLA,

to the friendship and cooperation between China and India,

and to the peace and development of the world.

Cheers!