1.Remarks by Chargé d'affaires a.i., Minister Counselor Shen Qinmin.

Ladies and Gentlemen, friends,

Good morning. A warm welcome to the Online Reception in celebration of the 95th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army.

Over the last 95 years, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the People's Liberation Army has made important contributions to safeguarding the sovereignty, security and development interests of China and provided solid support to world peace, stability and progress. In the new era since 2012, guided by President Xi Jinping's Thoughts on strengthening the army, the People's Liberation Army is striving to make itself state-of-the-art army in the world in all aspects.

Let's first talk about China-Ethiopia relationship generally. In recent years, the Comprehensive Strategic and Cooperative Partnership between China and Ethiopia has been deepening with frequent high level visits, solid mutual political trust and effective cooperation in the field of economy, trade and fighting against Covid-19. The Chinese side stands ready to enhance communication and coordination with Ethiopia, together safeguard the core interests and major concerns of each other, and materialize the outcomes of the 8th Ministerial Conference of FOCAC. The Chinese side is willing to make concerted efforts with Ethiopia and other countries in the region to implement the action plan passed by the Peace Conference of Horn of Africa, thus making contributions to lasting peace, development and prosperity of the region.

Regarding military exchanges and cooperation, this is an equally important part of the Comprehensive Strategic and Cooperative Partnership between China and Ethiopia. I am delighted to see the cooperation between the two armies has been progressing in an all-round manner in various areas and at different levels, thus greatly strengthening bilateral ties. I am confident that with the joint efforts of both sides, bilateral military exchanges and cooperation will surely be pushed onto a new level, further enriching the Comprehensive Strategic and Cooperative Partnership and bringing more tangible benefits to the two countries and peoples.

Last but not least, I wish the Reception a success. May everybody enjoy good health and good luck.

2. Remarks by Senior Colonel, Li Xiang，Defense Attaché of the Chinese Embassy

Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends,

The PLA is an army of the people, by the people and for the people.

On August 1, 1927, the Communist Party of China led the Nanchang Uprising and established the first armed force that truly represented the interest of the Chinese people in history. The PLA has witnessed a glorious history of 95 years. In the era of the revolutionary war, in the new journey of national economic construction, and in the process of reform and opening up, the PLA has always stayed true to its original aspiration of seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation. Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the PLA has adamantly acted upon the orders of the Communist Party of China and fought on the front line of medical treatment, scientific research, transportation and delivery, and made significant contributions to China’s successful fight against the pandemic.

The PLA is an army of the new era that continues to uphold the right political wills and get strengthened through deepening reform.

Entering the new era, the PLA fully implements the Party’s Thinking of Strengthening the Military and fulfills the Military Strategic Guideline for a New Era, comprehensively deepens the reform of national defense and the armed forces, reshapes the leadership and command system, optimizes the scale, structure and composition of forces, and promotes the reform of military policies and systems, comprehensively improves the military readiness and actual combat capabilities, actively builds a military strategic layout that features balance and stability, that focuses on defense while coordinating multiple domains, and thus makes great strides towards the goal of building a world-class military in the new era in an all-round way.

The PLA is an army of justice that advocates cooperation and maintains peace.

China adheres to the path of peaceful development and exercises a national defense policy that is defensive in nature. The PLA faithfully implements the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, committed to fulfilling international responsibilities and obligations, and always holds high the banner of win-win cooperation. The PLA actively participates in UN peacekeeping operations, vessel protection operations and international efforts in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, strengthens international cooperation in arms control and non-proliferation, plays a constructive role in the political settlement of hot issues, and makes concerted efforts to respond to global challenges such as terrorism, cyber security, and major natural disasters. China is a major contributor to UN peacekeeping budget and the largest troop-contributing country among the permanent members of the UN Security Council. Since 1990, the Chinese military has participated in 25 UN peacekeeping operations, and has contributed nearly 50,000 peacekeepers, leaving their footprints in more than 20 countries and regions, widely praised by the international community as “the critical element and key force in the UN peacekeeping operations”. Over 100 vessels and 30,000 officers and sailors of the Chinese Navy have been regularly deployed in 41 convoys, each consisting of 3 to 4 ships, to carry out regular vessel protection operations in the Gulf of Aden and waters off the coast of Somalia, having provided security protection for over 7,000 Chinese and foreign ships in 1,500 batches.

The PLA is an army of friendship that represents Sino-Ethiopian Cooperation and shared prosperity.

Cooperation between PLA and Ethiopian National Defense Force, on the one hand, constitutes a significant part of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of the two countries, on the other hand, is the propellant that further deepens the bilateral relations. The recent years have witnessed an intensified cooperation in many fields such as high-level communication, personnel training as well as military aid and trade. Here are a few facts: HE Defense Minister Dr. Abraham Belay participated in the 2nd China-Africa Peace and Security Forum with a friendly video speech several days ago, and went to the military high-tech hospital built by Chinese aid together with Chinese Defense Attaché and gave on-site guidance; the Chinese side donated two batches of Covid-19 vaccine totaling 300 thousand doses, the 8th PLA Medical Expert Team has arrived Ethiopia. The PLA is willing to work with the Ethiopia military to continuously deepen the pragmatic cooperation between the two militaries, and strives to push the comprehensive strategic friendly cooperative relationship between China and Ethiopia to a new level.

Now we are facing the once-in-a-century pandemic combined with the unprecedented global changes, the only path of weathering through such difficult times is to strengthen cooperation and to build a community with a shared future for mankind. Let’s join hands and maximize our efforts to enhance the cooperation between China and Ethiopia, and that between China and Africa, and give new impetus to the peace and stability of our world.