On January 14, 2023, the Chinese Embassy in Kuwait held a reception with the Chinese community in Kuwait for the Chinese New Year 2023, with the presence of Ambassador Zhang Jianwei as well as all embassy staff. More than 500 guests, including overseas Chinese, representatives of Chinese-funded institutions and enterprises, members of the China medical team to Kuwait, friends from the press, and Chinese students studying in Kuwait, gathered together to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year.
The reception started with the solemn national anthem of PRC. At the outset, Ambassador Zhang extended, on behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Kuwait, New Year greetings to all fellow Chinese in Kuwait. During his speech, he stressed that the year 2022 is a year of significance in the history of the development of the Party and the country, as the 20th CPC National Congress was successfully convened, laying out a grand blueprint for building China into a great socialist modern country in all respects and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through a Chinese path to modernization. Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the Chinese people have risen to the challenges and worked hard to press ahead with addressing both domestic and international imperatives and making coordinated progress in COVID-19 response and in economic and social development, he added. China has been creating new opportunities for the rest of the world over the course of its new development. The past year has witnessed closer high-level exchanges between China and Kuwait and firmer political mutual trust between the two sides. President Xi Jinping and Kuwait’s Crown Prince Mishal had a successful meeting on the sidelines of the China-Arab States Summit and the China-GCC Summit, laying out top-level design for and steering the course of future development of China-Kuwait relations.
Ambassador Zhang also pointed out that facing the onslaught of the pandemic over the past three years, the Chinese community in Kuwait pulled together, stayed at their posts and forged ahead through mutual assistance. Although we are abroad, we always have the motherland in mind and care about the development of our nation. We have been working hard to open up new prospects of broader cooperation between China and Kuwait and give new impetus to high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, thus making new contributions to fostering cultural exchanges between the two sides.
Ambassador Zhang stressed that the year 2023 is the first year to fully implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress, noting that as China has optimized its epidemic prevention and control measures, economic and social vitality will be further unleased in China, meaning that the economic fundamentals sustaining long-term growth remain unchanged. The brighter prospects of China’s development will create more positive energy for the stable, healthy and sustainable growth of the global economy. In the new year, China and Kuwait will continue to earnestly implement important common understandings reached by the leaders of our two countries and build on the past to achieve bigger progress in our strategic partnership.
Ambassador Zhang noted that for General Secretary Xi Jinping, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the safety and wellbeing of every fellow countryman and woman has been the foremost on their mind. The Chinese Embassy in Kuwait will continue to take concrete actions to fulfill the commitment of serving the people through diplomacy, and work with all our hearts and minds to offer quality services to the Chinese community and personnel in Chinese-funded institutions and enterprises in Kuwait, enabling every one of our compatriots overseas to feel the love and care from the motherland. The growing strength of the motherland is the main source of confidence for the overseas Chinese. He encouraged the local Chinese community and Chinese-funded institutions and enterprises to become active participants in Kuwait’s development and work to promote bilateral friendship, preserve China’s image and disseminate Chinese culture. It is also meaningful for them to promote patriotism and work together to add to the mighty force in building China into a great socialist modern country in all respects and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Decorated with lanterns and festoons, the three-hour reception took place in a festive atmosphere. At the event, guests from the Chinese community and Chinese-funded institutions and enterprises staged many great performances, including the performance of Chinese martial art, beautiful singing and dancing, and playing musical instruments, expressing their attachment to the motherland. Many guests present spontaneously started to sing during the Sing for the Motherland chorus by the embassy staff. People from the local Chinese community said they are keenly aware of the love and care from the motherland for overseas Chinese and proud of its tremendous achievements, adding that they will keep working hard to make greater contributions to the development of the motherland and the progress of China-Kuwait friendship.
