Hon. Nicky Wagner, National MP,

Hon. Lianne Dalziel, Labor MP,

Mme Ngaire Button, Deputy Mayor of Christchurch,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Kia Ora! Good Evening! Welcome to the reception of the Chinese Consulate General in Christchurch to celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Snake. In Chinese culture, the snake symbolizes health, fortune and prosperity. So I would like to take this opportunity to extend to you my new year greetings, and wish all of you a happy life in the ‘Year of the Snake’!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As the old saying goes, “time and tide wait for no man, and God help those who help themselves”. Looking back on the past year, I wish to summarize it as four "NEWs".

First, the comprehensive national strength of China achieved a NEW leap. The growth of China’s GDP was 7.8% in 2012, and had reached 8.3trillion US dollars. In November, the 18th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party elected a new leadership with Mr. Xi Jinping as General Secretary of the Party and drew up a new blueprint for China's development, including “Beautiful China”, “Double GDP and per capita income”, “Uphold social equity and justice” and so on. All in all, we are closer and closer to “China Dream”—the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and we are more confident of the development path we have chosen.

Second, the comprehensive cooperative relationship between China and New Zealand reached a NEW level. 2012 marks the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relationship between our two countries. In February, the New Zealand government issued the NZ Inc China Strategy, set out ambitious five-year plans and actions to achieve this goal. After that, CPPCC National Chairman Jia Qinglin, Guangdong leader Wang Yang, and State Councilor Liu Yandong visited New Zealand one after another, and pushed the high-level exchange to a climax. In 2012, the trade volume between our two countries reached a new high—14.5 billion NZ dollars. China is now New Zealand’s second biggest trade partner, second largest source of overseas tourists and the largest source of foreign students. We are proud of these achievements.

Third, the local Chinese communities and organizations took on a NEW look. “The duck knows first when the river becomes warm in spring”. During the past year, the local Chinese community followed the development of China, helped to uphold the territory integrity of China, promoted the Chinese culture, supported the work of the Chinese Consulate-general, and made great contributions to the friendship between China and New Zealand. We are so pound of and thankful to you for your hard work.

Fourth, the overall work of the Chinese Consulate-General made NEW progress. With the help and support of our kiwi and Chinese friends from all walks of life, we have spared no effort in pushing the practical cooperation between China and the South Island in 2012. Over 20 high level delegations from China visited the South Island. I myself visited most of the major cities and districts in the South Island, held extensive discussions with 13 mayors respectively on how to further cement our cooperative relations. We overcame various difficulties to start passports and visas services and handled over 30 consular protection cases. The education and culture exchanges are also very fruitful. On top of that, we tried very hard to explore the possibilities of China's participation in Christchurch's rebuild.

Ladies and gentlemen,

China has been building a well-off society in an all-round way. Looking forward, I have no doubt that China and the New Zealand will have more opportunities and make more progress in our cooperation. This requires efforts across all sectors from both China and New Zealand. In particular, it needs everyone of us to play a role.

In conclusion, I wish all of you good health and a happy and prosperous year of the Snake!

Thank you!