The Honourable Former Senator Victor Oh,
The Honourable Senator Yuen Pau Woo,
Assistant Deputy Minister Weldon Epp,
Assistant Deputy Minister Kathleen Donohue,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Good evening! Welcome to my reception. Previously, I had been working on and in the Middle East, and this is my first time to Canada. Coming from the vast beautiful desert to the stunning forest and snow-covered land, from the summer of 60 Celsius degrees to the winter of minus 30 degrees, honestly, I wasn’t sure if I could get used to these huge changes. But fortunately, one month since my arrival, I am reassured. Why? The secret lies in three H.

The first H is heat. Summer heat. Just as I had thought that Canada’s summer would give me a completely different experience, the intense heat that lasted for days last week brought my old Middle East memories back. This has taught me that even if there is a distance of thousands of miles away and many other big differences, with a constructive attitude, the summer of Canada and the summer of Middle East can also find common ground while putting aside differences.

The second H is hospitality. Warm hospitality. I want to thank the Canadian government for the warm hospitality and thoughtful arrangements since my arrival. In particular, I must thank Assistant Deputy Minister Epp who is with us here today and who warmly hosted me in Global Affairs Canada three times in the past month. Today is my first time to have you in the Embassy. In the spirit of mutual respect and reciprocity, I would like to formally invite you over to my residence as soon as possible.

The third H is hope. Fervent hopes. Since my arrival, I have met with many Canadian friends from various communities. My biggest impression is that they are all optimistic about the prospects of China-Canada cooperation and fervently hope to strengthen exchanges and cooperation between our two countries in various fields, to achieve mutual benefits and advance people’s well-being.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Currently, China-Canada relations are at a critical junction. Coming to Canada as the new Chinese Ambassador at this time means a glorious mission and a daunting task. I will perform duties with whole-hearted dedication and make every effort to deepen the traditional friendship between our two peoples and promote healthy and stable develoment of our bilateral relations, in the principle that I mentioned in 3H, namely seeking common ground while putting aside differences, mutual respect, and mutual benefits. I am deeply convinced that healthy and stable China-Canada relations not only serve our respective development, but will also inject more certainty and positive energy to today’s world which is fraught with turbulence and uncertainties.

However, I am also deeply aware that challenges abound in the road ahead. In 1986 when he was visiting China, former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney said, “We can prove to the world that people of different races and countries of different social systems can overcome these differences and cooperate for common interests.” In the fifty plus years, the statesmen of our two countries overcame these differences with tremendous political courage and great vision and insight, advanced China-Canada relations, and brought benefits to our two peoples. Now, the baton of history has been passed on to us. We must draw strength and wisdom from the successful historical experience of our relations and step up to our historical responsibilities so as to live up to the expectation of our people and pass on to the future generations 50 years from now a great China-Canada relationship that the great Chinese and Canadian people deserve.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Let me share with you another secret. And this is from Chief of Protocol Mr. Sébastien Carrière, the first official from Global Affairs Canada that I met after I arrived. He told me, during former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien’s visit to China in 1998, he heard the then Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji say to the Canadian visitors during the welcoming banquet, “Canada is China’s best friend.” This is the benchmark set by our predecessors, and should become the goal we strive for today.

Now, I would like to propose a toast, to the friendship between the Chinese and the Canadian people, and to the health of all our guests and your families. Cheers!