(October 1st, 2007, Islamabad)

Dear Pakistani Friends,

Assamalekoh!

Today is the 58th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of the Chinese Government and people, to extend our highest consideration and gratitude to the Pakistani Government and people who have been always supporting us.

Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and especially since the Reform and Opening-up, China has gone through tremendous changes. The recent 15 years witnessed China's growth rate of GDP of around 10%. In 2006, China's GDP increased by 10.7 % over the year before, reaching US$ 2.8 trillion. Our economy volume ranks No.4 in the world and our trade volume turns US$1.7 trillion. Moreover, the forthcoming 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will lay out a new blueprint for China's future development. And the 2008 Beijing Olympics Games will serve as another opportunity for presenting a peaceful, harmonic and developing China to the world.

This year marks the 60th birthday of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Under the leadership of President General Pervez Musharraf,the Pakistani Government and people have made continued progress in national development. Pakistan's economy grew at an average rate of 7.5% in the past four years, among the countries with fastest growth. Please accept our sincere congratulations on your great achievements.

Dear Friends,

China and Pakistan are good neighbors, close friends, trusted partners, and dear brothers. The friendship and contacts between our two peoples have a time-honored history. In the old days we were linked by the Silk Road. At present we are bounded by "all-weather" friendship and "all-round" cooperation.

Pakistan is one of the first countries to recognize new China. When China was in difficulty during 1950s and 60s, it was Pakistan that opened an air corridor linking China to the outside world. Early in 1970s, it was Pakistan that served as a bridge for the normalization of Sino-US relations. On the issues affecting China's core interests, such as Taiwan, Tibet and human rights, it is Pakistan that has over the years extended valuable support to China. Recently there have happened some incidents against Chinese citizens in Pakistan. The Pakistani Government adopted necessary measures to beef up their security timely. These are what we will never forget. Meanwhile, the Chinese Government and people have always supported Pakistan to uphold its sovereign independence and territorial integrity.

History has, time and again, proven the dynamics of Sino-Pak friendship. We have signed the Treaty of Friendship,Cooperation and Good-neighborly Relations, a historical document in our bilateral relations. To name a few, the Karakoram Highway, the Chashma nuclear power plants and the Gwadar port, jointly built by China and Pakistan, symbolize our latest achievements of Sino-Pak cooperation. We are proud of the relationship.

Friends,

Both the nations are working hard to deepen our strategic partnership of cooperation. This is a mission entrusted by history; this is a call of the times. To achieve the goal, we look forward to our future cooperation based on four pillars.

The first is economic and trade cooperation. China attaches great importance to business interaction with Pakistan. We encourage leading Chinese companies to take Pakistan as a priority destination of investment. We support them to undertake construction projects, to establish factories, and to increase cooperation in energy, IT, agriculture, etc. With the joint efforts of our two Governments, a lot of agreements have been signed. The China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement is the first one of its kind that China has ever reached with South Asian countries. Since coming into effect this July, it has forecast a brighter future for trade growth. In 2006, our bilateral trade volume hit a record of US$ 5.26 billion. I am confident that this year will see another new high. We are also trying our best to implement the Five-year Development Plan on Trade and Economic Cooperation, which will result in numerous cooperative projects. We have set up Haier-Ruba Economic Zone. China Mobile has entered into Pakistan's telecom market. Now there more than 4000 Chinese engineers and technicians all over Pakistan, working hard for your prosperity and development.

The second pillar is people-to-people contacts. There remains a huge potential for bilateral cooperation in education, science and technology, culture and media. To further enhance Pakistani young generation's understanding of China, the Chinese Ministry of Education has granted a large number of scholarships to Pakistani students. Now there are more than 1,000 Pakistani students studying in China for their master and doctorial degrees. The yearly plan of exchanging 100-youth delegations has successfully come into its fourth year. The Confucius Institute in the National University of Modern Languages is the first one we have set up in Muslim countries. I firmly believe that it will help Pakistani people to know more about Chinese culture. The first China -Pakistan Engineering University is now taking shape. And the project to set up a Sino-Pak Friendship Centre in Islamabad also goes well. Tourism cooperation and regular exchanges of think-tanks are two other fields that deserve our efforts. I would like to push more people-to-people communication in the coming years. I am convinced that people-to-people contacts should serve as a key pillar, on which China-Pakistan friendship will blossom. We need to make more efforts in this regard.

The third is defense and security cooperation. Over the decades, our cooperation in defense industry and trade has advanced, showing a strong momentum. The successful show-up of JF-17 fighter on the National Day of Pakistan this year was highlighted as a new milestone of our defense cooperation. Earlier this year, our two navies visited each other and conducted joint exercises in the Arabic Sea. Besides, our law-enforcement agencies and intelligence departments also have good coordination in fighting terrorism and transnational crimes.

The fourth pillar is cooperation and coordination in international and regional affairs. China and Pakistan shared common interests in international and regional issues. We trust and support each other. While we appreciate Pakistan's support on a variety of issues, we also support Pakistan on many issues related to the UN, the SCO, etc.

My Pakistani brothers and sisters,

The Chinese Government and people cherish our traditional friendship with Pakistan. We view our relations with Pakistan in strategic terms and from a long-term perspective. Though I have just been here as Chinese Ambassador for seven months, I have been deeply touched by the friendly sentiments of the Pakistani people. I will keep working hard, coordinate closely with the Pakistani side, and bring China-Pakistan strategic partnership into a much brighter future.

Chin-Pak Dosti Zindabad!

Thank you.