Global officials extend warm wishes for Chinese New Year

China

Global officials extend warm wishes for Chinese New Year

2025-01-27 21:10 Last Updated At：01-28 13:07

As the Chinese New Year draws near, diplomatic representatives from around the world and international organizations sent heartfelt greetings to China and its citizens, wishing them a prosperous and joyful year to come.

This year, the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival takes place on January 29, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake. As the most significant holiday on the Chinese calendar, it serves as a cherished opportunity for families to come together and celebrate.

Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), shared her Spring Festival wishes, highlighting the recent inclusion of the Chinese New Year on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2024.

"Dear friends, (switch to Chinese) Happy Chinese New Year! (switch back to French) On this special occasion, I would like to extend my warmest wishes to you and your family on behalf of UNESCO. May you all enjoy happiness, health, and prosperity. As UNESCO's Director-General, I also congratulate you, as just a few weeks ago, we added the Chinese New Year to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This reflects the deep connections the Chinese New Year fosters among Chinese communities worldwide. Moreover, the Chinese New Year has become a global tradition, with our celebrations spreading messages of joy and peace to the world," she said.

Johari bin Abdul, Speaker of Malaysia's Dewan Rakyat, the country's lower house of parliament, delivered his Spring Festival wishes at a reception hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia on Friday.

"On behalf of the Parliament of Malaysia and the Malaysian people, I wish all of us and all of you a joyful and prosperous Chinese New Year. May the Year of the Snake bring wisdom, harmony, success to all. And may the friendship between Malaysia and China continue to shine for generations to come. Thank you very much. (switch to Chinese) Wish you all prosperity," he said.

"It's great that now it's a UNESCO heritage and it can be celebrated around the world as well. (switch to Chinese) I wish you a Happy Chinese New Year. May you enjoy good health and may all your wishes come true," said Khurelbaatar Bulgantuya, Deputy Chairman of the Mongolian State Great Hural, Parliament of the country.

Iliana Iotova, Vice President of Bulgaria, extended her greetings at a Spring Festival reception hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Bulgaria on Wednesday.

"Thank you for inviting me to celebrate the Spring Festival with you all. The Spring Festival is eagerly awaited by people around the world. It brings harmony and is filled with joy and hope," she said.

"I wish everyone, especially our Chinese friends, good health," said Tsoncho Tomov Ganev, Vice-President of the 50th National Assembly of Bulgaria.

China's development never a threat: FM spokesman

China's development has never been a "threat" to anyone but the source of growth advancing common development of all countries, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular press conference in Beijing on Friday.

Some Western media and think tanks are peddling so-called "China Shock 2.0," saying that "China is achieving fast development in high-tech sectors such as renewable energy and AI and relies on foreign markets to absorb its overcapacity, thus reducing the market share of developed countries and sending more serious shock waves to the global economy compared with the era of traditional manufacture industry," while there are foreign commentators saying that the "China Shock 2.0" argument ignores the genuine innovation occurring within the Chinese industrial ecosystem and that Chinese export is the exact booster of the global economy that is needed in the turbulent period and more indispensable than ever.

Commenting on that, Lin said: "From the world's factory to the world's market and innovation powerhouse, China's development is achieved through strong performance driven by innovation and brings tangible cooperation opportunities and space to the world. High-quality Chinese products represented by the 'old three' of textiles, furniture and home appliances have stabilized the global industrial and supply chain, lowered the living cost of global consumers and eased the inflationary pressure worldwide. China's green production capacity represented by the 'new three' of electric vehicles, batteries and solar panels has bridged the gap between supply and demand in global green development and bolstered the global energy transition and low-carbon development. Moreover, China's high-tech products represented by the 'new new three' of robots, AI and innovative drugs have broken high-tech barriers and monopoly and enabled people in more countries to access affordable new technologies," said the spokesman.

"Openness and cooperation bring about progress and win-win result. China's development has never been a 'threat' to anyone but the source of growth advancing common development of all countries. What really creates 'shocks' to the world has never been the innovation of Chinese companies and efficiency of Chinese industrial capacity, but protectionist moves of setting up barriers, decoupling and severing industrial and supply chains. China will stay committed to high-standard opening up, defend the multilateral trading system and provide more certainty and new impetus to the world economy with its own steady development," said Lin.