On July 19, H. E. Mr. Dong Xiaojun, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Bulgaria and his wife, Mrs. Xia Zhishun,

gave a reception at the Embassy on the occasion of the 96th anniversary of the foundation of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

H. E. Mr. Dong Xiaojun made a welcome speech to his guests:

It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you to this reception, celebrating the 96th anniversary of the foundation of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

96 years ago, when the Chinese nation was in danger, the Nanchang Uprising opened the prelude to the independent leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in armed struggle and the establishment of a revolutionary army. Under the leadership of the CPC, the Chinese military force fought bravely, repelled foreign invaders, and achieved national independence. After the foundation of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese People's Liberation Army has become the backbone for safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, maintaining national security and enhancing the nation-building and development.

Over 96 years of development, the Chinese Armed Forces has grown from small to large, from weak to strong, and has developed into a powerful military force with a lean and efficient leadership and command system, coordinated and balanced development of various services and arms, and relatively advanced weapons and equipment. It is the steel wall that safeguards China's national security and the interests of the Chinese people, and also a powerful force for maintaining regional and world peace. In the future, China will deepen reform in national defense and armed forces in all respects, and build a fortified national defense and strong armed forces commensurate with China's international standing and its national security and development interests, providing strong guarantee for fulfilling the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation and building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects.

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Chinese military force always keeps in mind President Xi Jinping's entrustment, fulfilling international responsibilities and obligations of the armed forces of a major power, promoting international military cooperation in all respects in the new era, and proactively providing public security goods such as international peacekeeping, maritime escort and humanitarian assistance. China sends the most peacekeepers abroad among the permanent members of the UN Security Council. Over the past 30 years of participating in UN peacekeeping operations, the Chinese military and police service have successively participated in nearly 30 UN peacekeeping operations and dispatched more than 50000 peacekeepers. The Chinese peacekeeping force has won praises from the United Nations, the governments and peoples of the host countries for its bravery, perseverance, dedication and self-discipline. At the same time, the Chinese People's Liberation Army actively promotes exchanges and cooperation with militaries around the world, holding joint military exercises, conducting naval fleet visits, and carrying out military personnel exchanges, etc. The ever-expanding military exchanges have significantly enhanced mutual trust and cooperation between China and relevant countries.

At the moment, the world is accelerating into a stage of turbulent change, where security threats and challenges are emerging one after another, and instabilities and uncertainties of various kinds are on obvious rise. We insist that the relations between countries should be conducive to world peace and stability, and not target any third party or harm others' interests. The long-term prosperity and stability of the Asia-Pacific region depends on mutual respect, openness and cooperation, mutual benefit and handling differences properly among countries in the region. The Asia-Pacific region lies beyond the geographical scope of the North Atlantic. The countries and peoples in the region firmly oppose any words or actions designed to bring military blocs into this region and stoke division and confrontation. China never subscribes to the outdated logic that a strong country is bound to seek hegemony. China solemnly enshrines "adhere to the path of peaceful development" into the Constitution, and "maintain world peace and oppose acts of aggression and expansion" into the National Defense Law. China defines making contribution to building a community with a shared future for mankind as global significance of its national defense in the new era, and will always be a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, a defender of the international order, and a provider of public goods.

Ladies and gentlemen, friends,

In recent years, cooperation between China and Bulgaria has produced fruitful results in various fields. In 2019, H. E. President Rumen Radev paid a state visit to China. During the visit, President Xi Jinping and President Rumen Radev jointly announced that China-Bulgaria relations had be upgraded to strategic partnership level, leading the relationship between the two countries into a new stage of development. In this context, the relationship between the two armed forces of China and Bulgaria has also been developing continuously. The exchanges and cooperation between the two sides in various fields have been steadily promoted, and mutual trust has been further deepened. We believe that in the future, the pragmatic cooperation between the Chinese and Bulgarian armed forces will surely reach a new level and facilitate the China-Bulgaria strategic partnership to bear new fruits.

We are willing to work with armies from all over the world, including the Bulgarian armed forces, to earnestly implement the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, actively fulfill international responsibilities and obligations, maintain communication and exchanges, enhance coordination and cooperation, and make contribution to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Now, let us raise our glasses and toast to the Chinese People's Liberation Army, to the everlasting friendship between China and Bulgaria, and to world peace! Cheers!

Thank you for the attention!

The reception continued with animated conversations and the enjoyment of wonderful traditional Chinese cuisine.

Pictures: "Diplomatic spectrum"