30 September 2015

Distinguished Guests,
Friends and Comrades,

The founding of New China 66 years ago opened a new era in the country's history and set in motion its people's new drive towards a happy life. Tonight, as we are here to celebrate the birthday of our Republic, Chinese people of all ethnic groups are in various ways expressing their best and most passionate wishes to the motherland. Please allow me to extend, on behalf of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, my festive greetings to the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, my sincere greetings to our compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan as well as those in overseas Chinese communities, and my heartfelt thanks to all the friends from around the world who have cared for and supported China's modernization drive.

Over the past 66 years, especially since the country embarked on reform and opening-up, we have made remarkable and universally acknowledged achievements in building socialism with Chinese characteristics, by relying on the wisdom and hard work of the Chinese people under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. This is evidenced by the marked rising of China's comprehensive national strength and international influence, by the gradual prosperity of the ordinary Chinese families, by greater development opportunities as enjoyed by Chinese citizens, as well as by the steady social progress. These achievements have allowed us to console our forefathers who worked and died for China's rejuvenation over the years and given the Chinese people in the present-day world a good reason to be proud about.

Since the beginning of the year, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the General Secretary, our people throughout the country have worked together to score new achievements in the various areas of endeavors. Facing a sluggish world economy and mounting downward pressure at home, we have adopted effective range-based, targeted and discretionary macro-regulation to ensure that China's economy continues to move in a positive direction despite some ups and downs. The economy still operates within a reasonable range, with the quality of development further improved and systemic risks effectively checked. Through continued reform measures of streamlining administration, delegating government power while strengthening regulation, improving services, and restructuring finance, taxation, banking and SOEs, we have further invigorated the marketplace, and our policy of mass entrepreneurship and innovation is paying off. The share of the service sector is increasing. Consumption is contributing more to growth. And structural adjustment has made fresh progress. We have worked energetically to increase employment and people's income, strengthen the social safety net and take targeted measures in poverty alleviation, resulting in further improvement of people's living standards. All of us will continue to make tenacious efforts, in line with the policy decisions and plans of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and we will be able to meet the main goals and tasks of economic and social development for this year.

As the world's second biggest economy, it is not easy for China to maintain a growth rate of around 7% on the US$10 trillion GDP baseline. And it will be even more challenging to build a brighter future from the new starting point. Facing opportunities and challenges, we must bear in mind our mission and the great trust people have placed on us, meet people's expectations in our work of governance, and continue to push forward reform, opening-up and socialist modernization drive.

Development is the surest way leading to national renewal and it is of top priority for China. It was the solid work that has brought China so far in development, and it will take nothing other than solid work to help China achieve new development goals. We must further innovate the model of macro-regulation, actively expand domestic demand and adjust the structure of development, build on the foundation of a sound economic growth, improve the quality and efficiency of development, effectively prevent and control risks of all kinds, in order to ensure a medium-high growth rate and move our economy towards a medium-high level of development.

Reform and opening-up is the source of drive in development. We must steadfastly deepen reforms across the board. By driving the economy forward with innovation through such schemes as mass entrepreneurship and innovation, we can find additional pools of talent and resources and foster new drivers of growth. We must open still wider to the outside world, participating in global competition and cooperation at a higher and broader level and bringing about a win-win development.

People's wellbeing is the scale to measure the effectiveness of reforms and development. We must make every effort necessary to increase employment, and we need to open up more ways to raise household income. We must address people's difficulties to ensure that children from poor families will no longer have to drop out of school, ordinary citizens will not be driven into despair by serious illness and young people, full of dreams to make innovation or to start their own business, will not be deprived of the opportunity because of unnecessary formalities. We will keep up efforts to improve the environment, thus delivering a greater sense of happiness to our people.

The rule of law is the foundation stone in modern governance. We must fully advance China's law-based governance, speed up the building of a law-based government and a society on the basis of the rule of law, all to make the rule of law a key safeguard for social progress.

Distinguished Guests,

Friends and Comrades,

We will stay committed to the principles of "one country, two systems", "the people of Hong Kong administering Hong Kong", "the people of Macao administering Macao" and a high degree of autonomy, and will support Hong Kong and Macao in ensuring prosperity, stability and harmony and continued progress.

We will stay committed to the basic policy of peaceful reunification as the basis of "one country, two systems", and join our Taiwan compatriots in defending the overall national interests, sharing opportunities of development, carrying forward the common cultural heritage and building a community of shared future across the Straits.

We will stay committed to the path of peaceful development and win-win cooperation, expand our converging interests with the rest of the world and work together to usher in a new era of peace and development of mankind.

Distinguished Guests,

Friends and Comrades,

Our future depends on how well we now work. Let us rally closely around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the General Secretary, hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, act in accordance with the four-pronged comprehensive strategy, and work hard and arduously so as to turn China into a modern socialist country that is strong, prosperous, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious and realize the Chinese dream of great national renewal.

Now, please join me in a toast,

To the 66th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China,

To the prosperity of our great motherland and the wellbeing of its people of all ethnic groups,

To the friendship and cooperation between the Chinese people and people around the world, and

To the health and happiness of everyone present tonight.

Cheers!