The Right Hon. PM Bill English,

Hon. Mr. Andrew Little, leader of the Labour Party,

Hon. Minister Judith Collins,

Hon. Mayor Phil Golf,

Respected members of parliament,

My dear Chinese compatriots,

Ladies and gentlemen, friends,

Good Morning!

It is my honor and pleasure to be here today to participate in this great event in celebration of the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year, together with friends from all walks of life in NZ. First of all, I would like to thank my very good friend Chairman Kay Lui for inviting me to this fantastic occasion to celebrate the year of Rooster. In Chinese tradition and culture, "Rooster" means peace, blessing and good luck. So at this joyful and auspicious moment, I would like to, on behalf of the Chinese Consulate General in Auckland, to express our warmest greetings and best wishes to all the guests present here today and through you to the friends in NZ, for a very happy and prosperous New Year!

For the Chinese people, 2016 was an extraordinary year. China had a very good start of its 13th five year plan for economic and social development. Actively carrying out the new development concept of innovation, coordination, greenness, openness and shared development, we stepped up the pace of comprehensively building a better off society, deepening reform, law-based governance of the country and strict party discipline. A lot of achievements have been made in all respects. Our economic growth maintained stabilized in good momentum, still ranking the forefront of the world and China serves as the No. 1 engine to the world economic growth. A series of breakthroughs were made in science and technology innovation including satellites and space station etc. Our reform measures brought more substantial benefits to the people, especially in the rural areas. More than ten million people were lifted out of poverty. In the diplomatic field, we successfully hosted the Hangzhou G20 Summit, shared our thoughts with world leaders and also proposed our ideas of how to tackle the world economic problems. The projects under One Belt One Road Initiative were pushed forward smoothly. We have adhered to the peaceful development while resolutely safeguarding the territorial sovereignty, maritime rights and interests of China.

For China-New Zealand relations, 2016 was a year of harvest. China-NZ comprehensive strategic partnership has been strengthened with deeper political mutual trust and frequent high level exchanges of visits and dialogues. The cooperation and communications between our two countries have been growing very quickly in all areas. Now China is NZ's largest source of international students, the largest trading partner and second largest but fastest growing market of tourism.

For the ties between China and the consular districts of Auckland, the cooperation was upgraded to unprecedented and historical level. The number of Chinese ministerial and governor level delegations to the consulate district set a new record, and they all returned back to china with tangible results in cooperation. The One Belt One Road Initiative featuring connection, infrastructure and people-to-people exchanges achieved early harvest, especially in areas of aviation connectivity and tourism. Direct flights between China's major cities and Auckland were doubled last year and have exceeded 150 per week, which was very hard to imagine not long ago. Each airline has brought 120 to 150 million US Dollars benefit to Auckland annually according to Auckland airport authority. The number of Chinese tourists amounted to more than four hundred thousand, still growing at a fast speed.

2016 was a shining year for our Chinese compatriots, students and business people in NZ. They made great contribution to NZ political, economic and social development as well as to the diversity of culture here. At the same time, they are the strong supporters of the good relationship between China and NZ, serving as important bridges in promotion of cooperation, communication and friendship between our two countries. They warmly welcome the Chinese navy ships to Auckland, hosted a series of cultural events, and were actively promoting harmonious Chinese community. I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks and pay tribute to all of them for their contribution and for their achievement!

Ladies and gentlemen, friends,

Looking into the future, 2017 is a year of great significance for China. The Communist Party of China will convene its 19th national congress. In future, just as stated by President Xi Jinping last week in Davos, China's determination of maintaining world peace, promoting common development, building a cooperative partnership with outside world and supporting multilaterism will not change. China will continue to push forward the comprehensive reform and opening up, and will continue to work together with the international community to steer the way for economic globalization and integration, and build a community of shared future for mankind to achieve win-win cooperation and inclusive development. China will continue to make greater contribution to world peace, stability and prosperity.

2017 marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of China-New Zealand diplomatic relationship, so it will be a year faced with huge opportunities for strengthening the ties between NZ and China. In 2017, my consulate will continue to work hard, shoulder by shoulder with our NZ friends to deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership between our two countries. We will continue to integrate the One Belt One Road Initiative with NZ's 30-year infrastructure development plan. We will continue to provide efficient and high-quality consular services for our Chinese compatriots in the consular districts. It is hoped that our overseas Chinese will continue to actively integrate into mainstream society of NZ, and maintain unity and continue to work for a better and stronger ties between our two countries and two peoples.

The Chinese Market Day has been a great platform for promoting the development of cultural diversity, mutual understanding and friendship. I would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to the government of NZ and Auckland for your long time support to the development of the Chinese communities in Auckland and NZ, and to the good relations between our two countries and two peoples.

And thank you so much, ACCC and its staff for your contribution to making this fantastic event possible. My very best wishes again to you all for a very happy and prosperous New Year! Good Luck!