First of all, please allow me to pay respects to:

His Majesty King Letsie III,

His Right Honorable Prime Minister Matekane,

Honorable President of the Senate,

Honorable Speaker of the National Assembly,

His Lordship Chief Justice,

Honorable Former Prime Ministers,

Honorable Deputy Prime Minister,

Former Deputy Prime Ministers,

Honorable Cabinet Ministers, past and present,

Excellencies, colleagues of Diplomatic Missions and International Organizations,

Distinguished Members of the Senate,

Distinguished Members of the National Assembly,

Senior Officials of central and local government,

Friends from Media Houses,

Representatives of Chinese compatriots and Chinese communities,

Ladies and gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to this reception celebrating the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. On behalf of the Chinese Embassy, I extend my warmest greetings to our Chinese compatriots in Lesotho and my sincere appreciation to all our Basotho friends for joining us this evening and for supporting the friendship and cooperation between our two countries.

This is a year of special significance for both China and Lesotho. We celebrate the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC). We have embarked on our 15th Five-Year Plan. Lesotho is proudly celebrating the 60th anniversary of its independence. These milestones invite us to look back at what our countries have achieved, and to reflect on the future we will build for our peoples.

Over the past 77 years, under the leadership of the CPC, the Chinese people have, through self-reliance and unrelenting efforts, made remarkable achievements that will be etched in history as landmarks. China has achieved the historic leap from a country with relatively backward productive forces to the world’s second-largest economy, and made the historic transformation of raising the living standards of its people from bare subsistence to moderate prosperity in all respects. We have continued to modernize our system and capacity for governance, develop whole-process people's democracy, advance the rule of law, and deepen reform and opening up.

The past five years paint a particularly telling picture. As stated in the Report on the Work of the Government, during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–2025), China’s economy registered an average annual growth rate of 5.4 percent, notably higher than the global average. China’s GDP crossed the 140-trillion-yuan mark. We achieved new breakthroughs in scientific, technological and industrial innovation, expanded high-standard opening up, and consolidated our position as the world’s largest trader in goods. Total spending on research and development rose by an average of 10 percent annually over the five years.

These achievements matter not merely for the statistics themselves. They reflect the improving quality of China’s growth. China is shifting from growth driven largely by resources and traditional factors toward growth powered increasingly by innovation, advanced manufacturing, digitalization and new industries. The latest figures of this year are encouraging. In the first eight months, industrial output rose by 5.3 percent, with high-tech and equipment manufacturing registering robust growth. In the first half of the year, industries related to artificial intelligence, aerospace and advanced electronic and communication equipment continued to expand rapidly. We are also making steady progress in digitalization, with new growth drivers such as high-end manufacturing, the digital economy and modern services contributing over 40 percent of economic growth. We enjoyed a bumper summer grain harvest; the service sector continued to expand and consumer demand remained stable. Foreign trade maintained strong momentum, with goods imports and exports rising by 16.9 percent. Employment remained generally stable, while per capita disposable income grew by 5.2 percent. This year, China’s steady growth continues to serve as an important engine and anchor of stability for the world economy. China has remained a major contributor to global growth, with its contribution to world economic growth staying at around 30 percent over the years. These achievements demonstrate the strong resilience of China’s economy, the vigorous development of new quality productive forces, and the steady shift toward innovation-driven, high-quality development.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

While China presses ahead with its own development, we are also keenly aware that our celebration unfolds in a world still facing conflicts, development challenges and uncertainties that weigh on the lives of ordinary people. Greater international cooperation is needed to uphold peace, promote development and create an enabling environment for all countries to prosper. Against this backdrop, President Xi Jinping has put forward the Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI), the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI) and the Global Governance Initiative (GGI). These four global initiatives are important public goods that China provides to the international community and will drive the efforts to build a community with a shared future for humanity. The GDI focuses on international cooperation on development, which contributes to advancing the U.N. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The GSI prioritizes resolving international disputes through dialogue and consultation, which offers a new approach to international security cooperation. The GCI aims at promoting exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations, charting a viable route for fostering an inclusive environment where diverse civilizations thrive together. The GGI has laid out the principles, methods, and pathways for reforming the system and institutions of global governance, injecting strong impetus into the efforts to build a more just and equitable global governance system.  

Lesotho has firmly supported these initiatives and translated its support into concrete action. It is a member of the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative and was among the founding members of the Group of Friends of Global Governance. We appreciate Lesotho’s  support and its commitment to upholding multilateralism and strengthening the voice of African countries in global affairs.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The shared understanding between China and Lesotho on these broader issues has also strengthened our bilateral strategic partnership. High-level exchanges between our two countries have been frequent and substantive. President Xi Jinping has maintained close correspondence with His Majesty King Letsie III and the Right Honourable Prime Minister Sam Matekane, including exchanges of congratulatory messages on our respective national celebrations and other occasions. In January, Foreign Minister Wang Yi paid a historic visit to Lesotho. Over the past two months, His Majesty King Letsie III, the Right Honourable Prime Minister Sam Matekane and other senior officials from Lesotho also visited China on different occasions.

China highly appreciates Lesotho’s steadfast adherence to the one-China principle and its firm support on issues involving China’s core interests and major concerns. The two sides have also reaffirmed their commitment to close collaboration in international affairs, jointly opposing unilateral sanctions, protectionism and economic hegemonism, promoting an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and working to establish a more just and equitable global governance system. This shared commitment is also reflected in our cooperation in new areas of international cooperation. In July, Lesotho signed the Agreement on the Establishment of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization in Shanghai and became one of its founding members. Early this month, Lesotho also became a founding member of the International Alliance against Telecom and Cyber Fraud. These are concrete examples of our two countries working together to strengthen international cooperation and improve global governance in response to emerging challenges.

These new areas of cooperation complement our more established practical cooperation. In April, the two sides signed a protocol waiving two interest-free loans totaling RMB 89.976 million (M 224.94 million Maloti), fulfilling a commitment made at the FOCAC Beijing Summit. In July, we launched Phase II of the Mafeteng Solar Power Plant, further supporting Lesotho’s energy transition and green development. Trade and agriculture remain important areas of our cooperation. The signing of the protocol on the export of Lesotho wool to China has provided an important foundation for expanding bilateral agricultural trade. Following the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease earlier this year, Chinese and Lesotho authorities maintained close communication and technical exchanges and worked through the relevant risk-assessment process to address the impact on wool and mohair exports. With the resumption of trade, we hope to build on this progress, further expand market access and diversify Lesotho’s exports to China. China has fully implemented zero-tariff treatment for 53 African countries that have established diplomatic relations with China, and Lesotho is among the countries that will benefit from this policy. We hope to work together to turn this policy opportunity into concrete gains for Basotho farmers, businesses and workers, and to bring more quality Lesotho products to the Chinese market.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The year 2026 also marks 70 years since the beginning of diplomatic relations between China and African countries and is the China–Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges. In Lesotho, we have actively supported youth, educational, cultural and health cooperation. We have been an important development partner of the Sebabatso Youth Empowerment Initiative and SABA since their establishment, and have provided scholarships and training opportunities to Basotho youth. More than 270 Basotho have gone to China for study and training this year. We also welcomed the 20th Chinese Medical Team to Lesotho, while Chinese medical specialists continue to share expertise and strengthen local capacity.

People-to-people exchanges are the foundation of lasting friendship between our two countries. On October 9, right here at the Avani Maseru, a Chinese Wuju Opera troupe will perform in Lesotho as part of the celebrations of Lesotho’s 60th Independence Anniversary. I hope the performance will further enrich the celebrations, promote mutual understanding and friendship between our two peoples, and provide another opportunity for us to celebrate together the enduring friendship between China and Lesotho.

These achievements have further strengthened the foundation of our China-Lesotho Strategic Partnership. As China embarks on the 15th Five-Year Plan and Lesotho celebrates 60 years of independence, our two countries are entering new stages of development. China stands ready to work with Lesotho to make full use of our bilateral cooperation mechanism, follow up on the outcomes of the 2024 FOCAC Beijing Summit, prepare for the next FOCAC meeting, and expand practical cooperation in more areas for the benefit of our two peoples.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I now propose a toast:

To the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China;

To the 60th anniversary of the independence of the Kingdom of Lesotho;

To the good health of His Majesty King Letsie III and the Right Honourable Prime Minister Sam Matekane, and to the peace, happiness and prosperity of all Basotho friends;

To the enduring friendship and ever-growing strategic partnership between China and Lesotho;

And to the health, happiness and success of all our distinguished guests present here tonight.

Cheers!

Thank you. Khotso, Pula, Nala!