Excellencies, 

Generals, 

General Yan Wenjing, Military Representative of the Chinese Mission to the European Union,

Senior Colonel Chen Lifeng, Military Attaché of the Chinese Embassy in Belgium,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Friends,

Good evening! Bonsoir! Goedenavond! I wish to welcome all of you to this reception jointly hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Belgium and the Chinese Mission to the European Union, celebrating the 97th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army, known as the PLA. I'd like to thank all our friends from all walks of life here, who have for long been committed to and supportive of China-Belgium relations and China-EU relations, particularly in security and defense affairs.

As we live in a more volatile world, security has become the catchword of the day. I don't know whether this has anything to do with the fact that all of us professional diplomats and ranking military officers have been working hard enough or not enough. Ten years ago, in 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping initiated a vision for common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, widely applauded and supported by the international community. Two years ago, President Xi Jinping put forward the Global Security Initiative, the GSI. And we just marked the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence. The essence of China's view on security is clear and simple: The sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations shall be respected, the purposes and principles of the UN Charter shall be observed, the legitimate security concerns of all nations shall be taken seriously. One’s security and others’ security cannot be divided, one cannot guarantee one's own security at the expense of others’ security for long. Traditional security and nontraditional security cannot be divided. Security rights, interests and obligations cannot be divided. Security and development cannot be divided. As we all know, that security and development are mutually reinforcing, and disputes and differences among nations shall be peacefully resolved through dialogue and consultations. Wars and sanctions are not a most effective way to resolve disputes. 

We all know it is much easier to start a war than to finish a war. Dialogue and consultations represent the right way forward, and only in this way can we achieve universal security and security for all. This is not only the talk we talk, but also the walk we walk in China. It also applies to China's approach to the Ukraine crisis. In March 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his online video meeting with the then French and German leaders, made it clear that as far as this crisis is concerned, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected, the purposes and principles of the UN Charter must be fully observed, the legitimate security concerns of all countries must be taken seriously, and all efforts that are conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis must be supported. 

Then, in November, the same year, 2022, in his meeting with American President Joe Biden, President Xi Jinping also shared with him the three observations: first, conflicts and wars produce no winner; second, there is no easy or simple solution to a complex issue; third, confrontation between major countries in the world must be avoided. 

Then, in May this year, China and Brazil jointly released Common Understandings on Political Settlement of the Ukraine crisis. China and Brazil call on all relevant parties to observe three principles for deescalating the situation, namely, no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting, and no fanning up the flames by any party, and we should work together to create conditions for direct dialogue between Russia and Ukraine. 

In the same month this year, President Xi made the Chinese position clear once again during his state visit to France. China did not start the crisis in Ukraine, nor is China a party directly involved in the crisis. Instead of being an onlooker, China has been playing an important and positive role for peace in this crisis. Blaming China with barefaced lies and the disinformation will not help at all to resolve the crisis, it will only prolong the crisis. Working harder for peace is the right way forward and in the best interest of all nations. China is willing and ready to work with all nations in this world, with all regional and international organizations, to help secure an early conclusion to the conflict, to promote peace and encourage and promote dialogue for an end to this crisis, that has taken a serious toll on innocent people in many places in this part of the world and other parts of the world.

Besides, the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflicts is another human tragedy. China and European countries share the sympathy towards the innocent victims of the conflict. President Xi Jinping also said that this ongoing tragedy is a very hard test on human conscience, the international community must do something, and we call on a comprehensive and sustained ceasefire in Gaza, and we support Palestine to become a full member of the United Nations. We support the restoration of the legitimate rights and interests of the Palestinian people, and the relaunch of the two-state solution. Only in this way can we achieve lasting peace in the Middle East. 

China itself is a peace-loving country. You may be aware that the hallmark of our country, China, is the Great Wall, which has been a symbol of defense for thousands of years. We consistently pursue an independent foreign policy of peace and adhere to the path of peaceful development. China is so far probably the only country in this world that has written peaceful development in its constitution. China is also the only country among all nuclear weapons states who has undertaken not to first use nuclear weapons. Rather than a security threat as touted by some, China is and will always be a strong pillar for peace and tranquility of humanity.

The world is far from being tranquil. Still, we can feel the strong desire of people from China, Belgium, other European countries and all of the world, for peace, security and development. That's why it is very important for China and Belgium, for China and the European countries, and for China and all interested international organizations to tackle global security challenges together hand-in-hand. China will continue to advance the Global Security Initiative, and strongly contribute to world peace, development and international order. Whatever the changes in the international arena, China will not go for taking sides or bloc confrontation or a new Cold War. Even if we have to choose, we will never choose the side of confrontation, conflict or war. China will forever be on the side of dialogue, cooperation and peace, we’ll be on the right side of history. The Chinese People's Liberation Army is a strong force for implementing the Global Security Initiative. It will continue, undoubtedly, to safeguard peace and tranquility for China and the Chinese people, and will as always, continue to provide even more public security goods to the international community, and make even greater contribution to common security of humanity and lasting peace of this world. 

Thank you very much.