Distinguished guests, 

Ladies and gentlemen, 

Good evening! 

It is a great pleasure to celebrate with you the 99th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. The PLA was founded in 1927, a time when the Chinese nation was faced with internal turmoil and external threats. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the PLA made enormous sacrifices and enduring contributions in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, and in the fight for national independence and the people’s liberation. 

Today, China holds high the banner of peace, development and win-win cooperation, and the Chinese military is a force of victory and iron discipline that safeguards national interests and world peace. Chinese people believe that a strong military is essential to national security, but we also know very well that the purpose of developing military is to seek peace, not to wage wars or engage in aggression. You may be surprised because the Chinese character "武" (military) is a combination of two other characters: "止" (stop) and "戈" (weapon). 

China has consistently been a builder of world peace. China pursues an independent foreign policy of peace, a national defense policy that is defensive in nature, and it has always decided its position and policy on issues based on their own merits. Among major countries, China has the best peace and security record, and is the only one enshrining in its Constitution a commitment to peaceful development.

China has put forward the Global Security Initiative and champions the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security. China has been playing a positive and constructive role in addressing hot-spot issues. China is firmly committed to a nuclear strategy of self-defense and a policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons, and unconditionally undertakes not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states or nuclear-weapon-free zones. China has reiterated on numerous occasions that nuclear weapons must never be used and that a nuclear war must never be fought. China actively participates in the UN's transparency mechanisms on military expenditures and the UN’s peacekeeping operations. 

Chinese modernization is the modernization of peaceful development, and China’s development strengthens the world’s forces for peace.

China has consistently been a defender of the international order. As a founding member of the UN and the first country to sign the UN Charter, China believes that all countries should firmly uphold the international system with the UN at its core, safeguard the international order based on international law, and uphold the basic norms governing international relations underpinned by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, instead of reinventing the wheel. China’s diplomacy is anchored in mutual respect, fairness and justice, and win-win cooperation. We practice true multilateralism and work to build a community with a shared future for humanity.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Sovereignty and independence, for any country, are indispensable and valuable like sunshine and air. China never subscribes to the logic that a great power is bound to seek supremacy. With tremendous sacrifices made by the Chinese military and the Chinese people to safeguard China’s sovereignty and win independence, China never pursues hegemony that aims to deter, but a world that lives in harmony and solidarity. China believes that equality is the premise of state-to-state relations, and major countries, particularly, should act by example in honoring equality, good faith, and cooperation. China opposes bloc confrontation and exclusive groupings. All nations are stakeholders in the international rule of law, without it, anyone who sat at the dining table yesterday could be on the menu tomorrow. China rejects double standards on issues concerning international law and certain countries’ own rules forcibly imposed upon others. 

Dear friends,

The world is increasingly inter-connected but faced with multiple challenges. In a world marked by change and turbulence, China calls for a more just and equitable global governance that countries build consensus through dialogue, resolve disputes through consultation, and pursue win-win results through cooperation. There should be less preaching of the "law of the jungle" and more resolve to "turn swords into ploughshares." However long the journey may be, we will reach our destination if we persevere; However challenging the task may be, we will achieve success if we take action.

Thank you！