International Focus Magazine iF-Oct 2019 | Page 10

seen on the scene
Cai Wei’s Speech at the 70th Anniversary Celebration
for the People’s Republic of China
G
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good evening! It is a great pleasure to have all of you here tonight, in this fes-
tive golden moment of the year, joining us in celebrating the 70th anniversary
of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. I would like to extend
my warmest welcome and sincere thanks to all of you for your presence at
this reception, particularly the guests from the state of Florida, Georgia, Ala-
bama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico.
October 1st, 2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of
China. Earlier today, we received a copy of a congratulatory letter from Presi-
dent Jimmy Carter to President Xi Jinping on this occasion. Under the lead-
ership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people have made great
achievements through self-reliance and hard work in the past seven decades,
with their strenuous efforts, intelligence and wisdom. China’s great achieve-
ments, or “China miracle” have attracted world wide applause. The situation
of poverty and weakness of China since the Opium War in 1840s has been
fundamentally changed. The Chinese nation, tested by hardships that steeled
our resolve and proved our resilience, has gone through a great transforma-
tion - we have stood up, grown rich and become strong.
Here, I would like to highlight some of the records contemporary China has
made.
In the past 70 years, China has completed industrialization in a short period
of time that which took developed countries several centuries. With the
GDP increasing by more than 450 times, from $30 billion in the early years
of new People’s Republic to more than $13.6 trillion in 2018, China is now
the world’s second-largest economy, largest industrial country, largest trader in
goods, the biggest holder of foreign exchange reserves.
10 iF Magazine |October 2019