Your Majesties King Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipau'u,
Members of the Royal Family,
Honorable Prime Minister Pohiva
Honorable Deputy Prime Minister Sovaleni,
Honorable Lord Speaker Tu'ivakano,
Rev. Dr. Ahio, Royal Chaplain,
Nobles of the Realm,
Honorable Ministers of the Cabinet,
Members of Diplomatic Corps,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Malo E Lelei! It gives me great pleasure to attend the Official Opening Ceremony of the St. George Government Building at the invitation of the Government of the Kingdom of Tonga. First of all, on behalf of the Chinese Embassy, I'd like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Your Majesty, the Honorable Prime Minister and all the Tongan colleagues and friends for the opportunity of joining this big party of celebration.
The Construction of the St. George Government Building has gained great support and promotion of the Tongan Royal Family and the Tongan government.
The project was first proposed and named by His late Majesty King Tupou V. During the construction of the project, His Majesty King Tupou VI has showed a lot of kind concern, while a Project Management Unit was set up in the Tongan government to oversee the building work.
On the Chinese side, heads of various high-level Chinese delegations visiting Tonga and my predecessor Ambassador Huang Huaguang made a number of inspections on the construction site, and the Shanghai Construction Group demonstrated its first-rate building skills and professional devotion.
Thanks to the joint efforts, we are here today witnessing the birth of a new landmark of Tongatapu, a new symbol of the Tongan governmental function and public service, and a new achievement of China-Tonga cooperation.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Ever since the establishment of diplomatic relations in November 1998, and with the personal involvement of Your Majesty King Tupou the VI, China and Tonga have enjoyed increased exchanges, strengthened friendship and enhanced cooperation in different areas, producing fruitful results and mutual benefits to our two countries and two peoples.
Particularly in November 2014, leaders of our two countries reached agreement to develop strategic partnership feathering mutual respect and common development, which elevated the bilateral relations to a new level, charted the future course of development for the bilateral ties, and opened up broad prospects for our interactions and collaborations in the coming years.
I'd like to take this opportunity to quickly brief you on the current situation in China. Domestically, the Chinese people are focusing on carrying out the five development concepts of innovation, coordination, greening, opening up and inclusiveness, under the leadership of the Chinese central government with President Xi Jinping as the core. As was just decided yesterday, the 19th.National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is to be convened on October 18 this year in Beijing, which will reaffirm China's sticking to the socialist road with Chinese characteristics and inject fresh vitality into China's national building and the improvement of the Chinese people's livelihood.
Externally, China will continue to pursue an independent foreign policy of peace, work together with the other countries in the world to build a new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation, and strive for creating a community of shared future for mankind. With the introduction of the Belt and Road Initiative and the popularity it enjoys, we're of the belief that the above-mentioned objectives will finally be realized.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Chinese government attaches great importance to China-Tonga relations, and the Chinese people values the friendship with the Tongan people. As we're ushering in the 20th.anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic ties next year, we're more than confident in greater progress in our friendly and cooperative relationship, which will not only conform with the fundamental interests of our two countries and peoples, but also serve the peace, stability and prosperity of the Pacific Islands region at large.
To conclude, I'll keep my curiosity in which Tongan colleague will be the first to invite me to his office to talk shop in this new and beautiful building in the coming days, though I've been in the building twice on inspection tours in the past three months since my arrival in the Kingdom.
Good luck to St. George Government Building for its smooth operation, and best wishes to our Tongan Colleagues for more excellent performance in your careers.