Your Excellency Ms. Karen Ellemann Kloch, Minister for Fisheries, Equal Opportunities and Nordic Cooperation,
Your Excellency Mr. Michael Starbæk Christensen, Permanent Under-Secretary of State
Your Excellency Mr. Dagfinn Høybråten, Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers,
Your Excellency Mr. Anders Hoffmann, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate
Your Excellency Mr. Jonas Bering Liisberg, State Secretary for Foreign Policy
Distinguished guests, Ambassadors and representatives,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good evening! On behalf of the Chinese Embassy, I warmly welcome you to join us in celebrating the 10th anniversary of China-Denmark Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and enjoying the pleasant evening together.
First of all, I'd like to thank His Excellency Prime Minister Rasmussen for his kind Chinese New Year wishes to the Chinese people via video. We are glad that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark co-hosts the event with us. It shows the friendship of the Prime Minister, the Danish government and people towards the Chinese people. I'd also like to thank friends from all walks of life and overseas Chinese for all your support.
Tonight's event bears particular significance. It kicks off the joint celebration of the 10th anniversary of China-Denmark Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, as well as usher in the Chinese New Year.
Every effort put in will translate into gains. The past decade has witnessed the fruits of our cooperation. Denmark became the first Nordic country to establish the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with China in 2008. Exchanges and cooperation have since increased rapidly. The successful exchanges of visit between heads of states have deepened political trust. The China-Denmark Joint Work Program released by both governments in 2017 is enhancing coordination of our social and economic development strategies. For the past ten years, bilateral trade volume has increased by more than thirty percent, and remained above 10 billion US dollars during the last four consecutive years. Cooperation on new horizons such as green development, low-carbon economy, food and medicine is also gaining momentum.
Moreover, cultural and people-to-people exchanges have attracted much spotlight. In 2010, the Little Mermaid made its first overseas debut at the Shanghai Expo. Last year, Denmark became the first EU member state to co-host a tourism year with China. The successful China-Denmark Tourism year drew an expected flow of 38,000 Chinese tourists to Denmark, bringing in an estimated revenue of 500,000,000 Danish Krone to local businesses. Denmark attended the 2017 Pujiang Innovation Forum in Shanghai as Guest of Honor for the first time, and the Sino-Danish Center for Education and Research was inaugurated and opened its doors to both Chinese and Danish students and researchers, enhancing our cooperation in higher education and cutting-edge research. We have also expanded our cooperation under the framework of "One Belt, One Road" with the delivery of two advanced vessels made in China for Mærsk, including the world's largest ice-class 1A container vessel and a cutting-edge deep-water support vessel.
Looking back at the past decade, the fruits of China-Denmark relations have not come easily. They demonstrate the most fundamental principle in building bilateral ties, that is , mutual respect, equality and cooperation for mutual benefits.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The world is undergoing profound changes. Socialism with Chinese Characteristics has entered into a new era. China aims to foster a new type of international relations and build a community with a shared future for mankind. We are willing to share our own development opportunities with the rest of the world including Denmark. This provides us with new opportunities to deepen China-Denmark Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Air China will start operating a direct line between Copenhagen and Beijing at the end of May, boosting people-to-people exchanges. China will hold the first China International Import Expo in Shanghai in November. We sincerely welcome our Danish friends to attend the Expo. With the construction of the Panda House in Copenhagen Zoo progressing smoothly, I am expecting the arrival of my two giant panda assistants. We are willing to work with Denmark to grasp the opportunities and expand the depth, width and dimensions of our exchanges and cooperation, and jointly create an even more splendid decade of China-Denmark Comprehensive Strategic partnership.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are expecting the Year of the Dog pretty soon. I visited downtown recently as ladies always like shopping in the sales season. I saw that beautiful Copenhagen was lightened up by hundreds of Chinese lanterns, and shops were giving out red envelops of fortune. I felt that the Chinese New Year atmosphere is drawing closer the ancient civilization of China and the Nordic fairy tales of Denmark. This evening, artists from both countries will join hands in presenting us the beauty of dialogue between the Oriental and western civilizations. Hope you enjoy it.
I wish you good health, and all the best with your work and family. Happy Chinese New Year!
Thank you!