Chinese New Year Message from Madame Li Yanduan,Chinese Ambassador to Samoa

As our Samoan friends may have known, in a few days’ time, we are about to embrace Chinese New Year, which falls on February 19th.

This year is the Year of Goat, which symbolizes peace and prosperity in Chinese culture. So it gives me great pleasure to take this auspicious occasion to extend our New Year greetings to all of the Samoan people and our fellow countrymen living in Samoa. Wish all of you a peaceful and prosperous new year in 2015!

2014 is an unforgettable year for Chinese people, which marks the beginning of China’s endeavor to comprehensively deepen reform under new historical conditions. Under a sluggish world economy and downward growth pressure, we did not conveniently resort to short-term stimulus; instead we vigorously pursued structural reforms, taking measures like streamlining administration, targeted deregulation and promotion of mass entrepreneurship, hence further unleashing the innovation and productivity.

Thanks to these measures, China’s economy has enjoyed stable performance with its growth, inflation and unemployment rate well kept within a proper range. We call this new development “a new normal”, which means we will steer the reasonable shift from high speed to mid-to-high speed growth, turn the size- and speedoriented growth model to one that values quality and efficiency

. We will decisively embark on a path of green and low-carbon sustainable development and further deepen the opening up and win-win strategy with other countries to serve the common benefit of the whole world. With the 7.4% growth rate, the Chinese economy is still growing at the fastest speed in the world, which will continue to present the world with “China opportunities” for development.

It is estimated that in 2014, China’s economic growth accounts for 27.8% of the world economic growth and over 50% of growth in Asia.

The year 2014 is a year of bumper harvest for China’s diplomacy as we make all-round progress. Upholding the independent foreign policy of peace and aiming to promote a new type of international relations featuring equity, justice and win-win cooperation, we have established 72 partnerships of different types with 67 countries and five regional organizations.

This new practice of forging partnerships rather than alliances speaks for our diplomatic approach with distinctive Chinese features and as a major country.

As per relations with developing countries, we have continued to uphold justice and pursue shared interests, giving priority to justice and refraining from seeking interests at the expense of justice. By taking a broad range of bilateral and multilateral initiatives, we have done our utmost to strengthen unity and cooperation with other developing countries, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries and promote the common development of China and other developing countries.

Pacific Island countries are an integral and important part of the developing world, which China, as a developing country itself, always attaches great importance to and feels obliged to align with.

Last November, President Xi Jinping made the historic visit to Fiji, and held summit meetings with leaders of the 8 Pacific island countries that have diplomatic relations with China including Samoa to jointly draw a blueprint for the bright future of our mutually beneficial cooperation.

In the meeting, President Xi pledged 5-point measures intended to strengthen relations with PICs, which include building a strategic partnership featuring mutual respect and common development, enhancing high-level exchanges, deepening practical cooperation, expanding people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and intensifying multilateral coordination.

In terms of development cooperation, China pledged 2 billion US dollars of concessional loans for PICs and the China Development Bank also announced 2-billion-US dollar special loan, to finance infrastructure, agricultural, environmental and new energy projects for sustainable development in PICs. In five years’ time, China will offer 2000 scholarship opportunities and 5000 study and training places of all kinds to the island countries.

China will also continue dispatching medical team to relevant island countries and encourage more Chinese tourists to travel there. All these measures are warmly welcomed by the PIC leaders, who are willing to work closely with China to further uplift the bilateral relations to a new level.

The last year also saw strong growth of the bilateral relations between China and Samoa. Apart from the Summit Meeting between Prime Minister Tuilaepa and President Xi Jinping in Nadi Fiji, we have also seen other frequent highlevel visits and exchanges such as the visits to China by the Hon. Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon. Speaker of Parliament, and the Hon. Minister of Education, sports and culture, as well as the visits to Samoa by Mr. Han Zheng, member of Political Bureau of CPC and President Xi Jinping’s Special Envoy Vice Foreign Minister Mr. Zhang Yesui.

The peopleto- people exchanges have also been further strengthened with over 30 Samoan students being offered Chinese Government scholarships and around 70 Samoan officials and professionals taking training courses in China.

The trade and economic cooperation between our two countries has also grown steadily last year. As a true friend of Samoa, we always stand ready to support the Samoan government in its ambitious strategy of sustainable development, in which special emphasis is put on critical sectors such as private business, heath, education, public utility, infrastructure and export, etc.

In so doing, a series of cooperation programs, initiated by the Samoan Government, are successfully implemented, such as the National Hospital Project, the Loto Taumafai center for disabled people, primary and tertiary education facilities in the social sector, and the Upgrading of SIDs conference facilities and the sports facilities in Apia Park and Aquatic Centre in the infrastructure sector.

During the recent meeting between President Xi and Prime Minister Hon. Tuilaepa, the two sides agreed to upgrade the Faleolo airport terminals.

To support its strategy of revitalizing export, the Chinese government has extended the zero-tariff policy to Samoa. By all these cooperation programs, we are confident that Samoa will achieve further progress towards the goal of real sustainable development.

The year of 2015 will witness the 40th anniversary of the China- Samoa diplomatic relations and our two countries will jointly hold a series of celebratory events to mark the deep-rooted friendship and fruitful cooperation between our two peoples.

Samoa is one of the first countries in the Pacific Island region to establish diplomatic relations with China and through 40 years’ close cooperation has become the best friend of China in the region, who has always firmly supported One China Policy and many other issues concerning China’s interests.

We highly appreciate having Samoa as our true friend and believe that the further development of the China- Samoa friendship and cooperation into a strategic partnership serves the common interests of our two peoples.

The Chinese government is ready to make the 40th anniversary a pivot for working with the Samoan government and people to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between our two countries, expand and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields, and continue our mutual support and sound cooperation in the international and regional arena.

In conclusion, with the new year already setting in, on behalf of Chinese Embassy in Samoa I would like to wish Samoa every success in its social and economic development and wish everyone in Samoa a happy and prosperous life in 2015!