H.E. Senator Mushahid Hussain, Chairman of Pakistan-China Institute

H.E. Pervez Rashid, Minister for Culture, Information and National Heritage

President of Bolin Group Liu Youwu and Professor Li Xiguang,

Ladies and Gentlemen, dear friends,

I am very pleased to attend today’s launching ceremony of “Salaam Confucius”. I would like to thank Senator Mushahid Hussain for your kind invitation and wonderful arrangements. Senator Mushahid Hussain is an old friend of mine and the Chinese Embassy. For years, you have made tremendous contribution to promote China-Pakistan relations. I highly appreciate your efforts and hope you may play a more important role in this regard in the future.

I would also like to appreciate the warm remarks by Minister Pervez Rashid, who is also a sincere friend and staunch supporter of China-Pakistan relations. My warmest welcome goes to Mr. Liu Youwu and Professor Li Xiguang who have travelled from afar to Islamabad for today’s ceremony.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Confucius is a world-wide famous Chinese philosopher and teacher known for his popular aphorisms and his models of social interaction. His teachings, preserved in the Analects, focused on creating ethical models of family and public interaction, and setting educational standards. His thoughts were further developed into a system known as Confucianism. Today, he is widely recognized one of the most influential philosophers in world history.

One of the important legacies of Confucius is his many famous quotes with regard to life, study, friendship, etc. Just to name a few of them, such as “Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire”, “Isn’t it enjoyable to receive your friends from far away?” “If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher”. These simple yet essential words reflect the wisdom and vision of the great oriental philosopher and have far-reaching historic influence over the long history of mankind.

Confucius and his philosophy belongs not only to China, but also the whole world. That is why so many foreign scholars and experts have spent such long time to conduct in-depth study of Confucius and Confucianism. From this perspective, Confucius is also a window for foreigners to understand the Chinese history and culture. To make the people of other countries better understand and benefit from Confucius, we have promoted the establishment of Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classes around the world, which has reached about 500 and 900 respectively. These Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classes are quite welcome in local communities and have already become a bridge to connect China and the world.

I am pleased to inform you that 3 Confucius Institutes have been established in Islamabad, Faisalabad and Karachi respectively, and 1 Confucius Class has been established in Islamabad. More Confucius Institutes are expected to be set up soon in Gilgit and Lahore. I hope these Confucius Institutes and Class will serve as a window for Pakistanis to understand China, as well as a bridge to bring the hearts of our two peoples much closer.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This April, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a successful sate visit to Pakistan, during which more than 50 cooperative documents were signed. Leaders of both countries agreed to uplift our bilateral relationship to the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership, which opened the new chapter of China-Pakistan relations and brought our relations to a new height.

Last week, Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain concluded a successful visit to China, during which he met with Chinese President Xi and other Chinese state leaders. Both sides agreed to further promote our traditional friendship and deepen all-round cooperation. During the visit, President Hussain attended the commemoration ceremony for the 70th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War including the military parade. We are so happy to see a contingent of 75 Pakistani troops participate in the military parade.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Cultural exchange is an important part of the all-dimensional China-Pakistan relations. Undoubtedly, people-to-people contact and mutual understanding are the basis of the good relations between countries and I believe cultural exchanges could play an instrumental role in this regard. Only when people from our two countries really understand each other, we can truly respect each other, support each other and integrate with each other. This will in turn translate into the solid basis to support and sustain our ever-lasting friendship and cooperation and help achieve the China-Pakistan community of shared destiny at early date.

I hope that today’s exhibition could open another window for the Pakistani friends to understand the Chinese history and culture. I also welcome more Pakistani friends to visit China to see it by your own eyes, to witness the glorious history, modern development and vibrant urban life.

For that, once again, I thank the Pakistan-China Institute for hosting such a wonderful cultural exhibition. I look forward to more cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts in the coming days.

May I wish the cultural exhibition “Salaam Confucius” a full success!

Long-live China-Pakistan friendship!