On 21 September, the Consulate-General of the PRC in Edinburgh held a virtual reception marking the 72nd anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China. Scott Wightman, Director for External Affairs of the Scottish Government, Dean Lockhart MSP, Convener of the CPG China at the Scottish Parliament, Rt Hon Frank Ross, Lord Provost of the City of Edinburgh are among some 120 guests including representatives from the Scottish Government, Parliament, city councils, education, culture and business sector, members of the Consular Corps in Scotland as well as representatives from the overseas Chinese community, Chinese students and Chinese companies in Scotland.
The reception started with the powerful and heroic melody of the Chinese national anthem March of the Volunteers.
In his speech, Consul General Ma Qiang said, since New China was born 72 years ago, China has made great leaps from gaining independence to becoming prosperous and growing strong. China's national rejuvenation has consequently become a historical inevitability thanks to the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the painstaking efforts of Chinese people. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the CPC. We learned from history that, without the CPC, there would be no new China, not to mention the great rejuvenation.
Consul General recognized the enduring challenges in 2021 brought by the still-raging pandemic and precarious economic recovery. He hailed new contribution from China to jointly defeating the Covid-19 and restoring growth as soon as possible
Firstly, China champions the vision of building a global community of health for all. Translating that into action, China has provided huge amount of both vaccines and funds. Meantime, China resolutely supported the science-based Covid origin-tracing. The Joint Report by the WHO-China joint study team has laid a solid foundation for the next phase of origin-tracing.
Secondly, China plays the due role in world economic recovery. China's economy bounced back with a good momentum of growth in the first half of this year. China's new development paradigm with domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other would create great impetus for world economic recovery.
Finally, China fulfills the responsibility for world peace. Over the past 50 years since the restoration of the lawful seat of the PRC in the Unite Nations, China has been upholding multilateralism and been committed to peaceful, open, cooperative and common development in pursuit of a human community with a shared future.
Consul General noted that opportunities and challenges currently co-exist in China-UK relations. Developing mutually-beneficial partnership not only serves the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples but also contributes to world peace and prosperity. He stressed that China stands ready to work with the UK to focus on cooperation and properly handle disagreements on the basis of mutual respect so as to push the relationship out of a slump. To that end, the Consulate-General will work with all partners in Scotland to advance understanding, communications and cooperation for the benefit of the two peoples.
Consul General concluded by expressing full confidence in overcoming the challenges and building a better future for mankind as long as we act shoulder to shoulder.
Scott Wightman, Lord Provost Frank Ross, Provost Helen Moonie of South Ayrshire, Sir Jim McDonald of the Strathclyde University and Trade Ambassador David Valentine of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce all extended their best wishes to China and Chinese people on this special occasion. They welcomed growing and fruitful links in various areas between Scotland and China and looked forward to promoting the relationship to a higher level.
Guest speakers from the Chinese community, students and companies shared their great pride in the remarkable achievements of China. They vowed to keep supporting China's development and raising its profile whilst facilitating the cooperation and exchanges between China and Scotland.
Apart from speeches, the reception includes videos demonstrating China's green development and preparation for the 24th Winter Olympic Games. Attendees particularly enjoyed another five beautiful videos contributed by a few Scottish people to show their own unique connections with China. The guests congratulated and commended China on its achievements over the past 72 years. They wished that China-UK, China-Scotland relations would continue to make steady and sound progress.
