Ambassador Feng: On 1 October 1949, Chairman Mao declared the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Over the past 74 years, our country has grown and made tremendous progress. And in particular, in the last ten years, historic achievements in social and economic development have been made. 

China has achieved its goal of eradicating absolute poverty. More than 800 million people have been lifted out of extreme poverty. This is not only a milestone in China’s effort to bring about common prosperity to its people. It is also a very significant contribution to the reduction of poverty globally.  

There has been a historic transformation, and comprehensive change in the ecological and environmental protection too. President Xi Jinping said “clear waters and green mountains are invaluable assets”. This means we shall work for a harmonious coexistence between human and nature, where development and environmental protection go hand in hand. This idea has become a consensus of the whole nation and the guiding principle in China's pursuit of green and low-carbon development.

This year, for the very first time, more than half of China's total installed energy capacity comes from non-fossil energy sources. And this accounts for more than one third of the world's total installed energy capacity.

China has hugely increased both solar and wind capacity. Just take wind as an example, its onshore and offshore capacity put together now surpasses 310GW. This is roughly equivalent to the total capacity of the next top seven countries on the league table.

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of our times. This summer, the exceptional heat and rain, wildfire and floods induced by extreme weather once again underlined the urgent need for us to act now.

Green and low-carbon development is a strategic choice of China and it is a must, not only for our own sustainable development, but also for fulfilling our international responsibility. No matter what happens in the world, China’s determination to move away from old-fashioned development model and deepen climate cooperation with other countries will always remain firm.  

China’s next big task is to build itself into a modern socialist country when the People's Republic marks its centenary at the middle of this century.

The Chinese Modernization is not only about economics. It is much broader.  It is the modernization of 1.4 billion people, a scale larger than the population of the whole developed world. It is the modernization of common prosperity for all, which means no one is left behind. It is the modernization of material, cultural, and ethical advancement. It is the modernization of harmony between human and nature. China cannot become modernized without going green.

Last but not the least, it is the modernization which will be realized through peaceful development. We know that development is only possible in a peaceful international environment. In the past decades, China’s peaceful development has worked and worked well. There is no reason for us to change course.

At present, China’s economy continues to recover and is developing on a sound and solid track. In the first half of this year, China’s GDP grew by 5.5 percent year on year. This is notably faster than the 3 percent last year. The IMF has predicted that China’s economy will grow by 5.2 percent this year, and contribute with one third of the global growth. This shows that China will remain a major engine for the global economy, and will continue to offer important opportunities for the global development.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of China-Denmark comprehensive strategic partnership. Danish Foreign Minister Rasmussen’s visit to China was successful, and the Green Joint Work Programme launched by the two governments during the visit provides a good guidance for further advancement of the bilateral relations. It has injected fresh impetus to mutually beneficial co-operations.  

We value the high quality of Danish products, services and expertise, and hope that more of these will reach the Chinese market.  We hope to see more Danish companies doing business in China, more exchanges of students, and more tourists and cultural visits. 

The healthy and stable development of China-Denmark relations is in the interest of both our countries and peoples. I believe so long as we respect each other, and focus on mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, we can keep our bilateral relations moving forward. The better chapter of our friendship and cooperation is still to be written. Let’s join hands to do it.