Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good evening. I wish to thank all of you for joining us tonight to celebrate the Spring Festival of China, which is also commonly known as the Chinese New Year.

In Chinese lunar calendar, the first day of the first lunar month is the Spring Festival, as it occurs at the end of winter and the beginning of spring. This year, the Spring Festival will fall on February 3.

With a history of over 3000 years, Spring Festival is the most important and ceremonious festival for Chinese people, and is a time for family reunion. No matter how far away from home, people will always manage to return, and spend the festive time with their families. Spring Festival is also a time for exchanging greetings. People will give their best wishes for the next year to their relatives and friends.

According to Chinese tradition, the past 2010 is the year of tiger, while the year coming is the rabbit year. Rabbit is a symbol of happiness and good luck in Chinese culture. I wish to take this opportunity to wish all of you happiness and good luck in the year of rabbit.

In order to celebrate the Spring Festival with our Malawian brothers and sisters, the Chinese Embassy, together with the Overseas Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Chinese enterprises in Malawi, will hold an Enjoy Spring Festival Gala in Kamuzu Institute of Sports on January 30 from 1:00 pm to 4: 00 pm. At the Gala, Chinese kung fu, lion dancing, folk costume show, as well as traditional Malawian dancing and singing will be performed. I hope that through this kind of cultural exchanges, the mutual understanding and friendship between our two peoples will be further strengthened.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Looking back on the year 2010, in face of the complex domestic and international situations, China has made great successes under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and with the hard work of Chinese people. We successfully hosted the Shanghai World Expo and the Asian Games in Guangzhou. We launched our second unmanned lunar probe Chang’e II. Chinese people also bravely overcame severe natural disasters including the earthquake in Qinghai Province and the landslide in Gansu Province.

The year 2010 was the last year of China’s 11th Five-Year Development Program (2006-2010). China successfully fulfilled the targets set by the Program. The economic growth rate of 2010 has reached 10.3%, and the CPI has been controlled to 3.3%. The foreign trade has recovered from the international financial crisis and reached a record high. The livelihood of Chinese people has been further improved.

The year 2010 also witnessed rapid development of China-Malawi friendly relations. Last May, H.E. Prof. Bingu wa Mutharika, President of the Republic of Malawi attended the Opening Ceremony of Shanghai World Expo, and had an important meeting with his counterpart H.E. President Hu Jintao. The two Heads of State reached broad consensus on the development of China-Malawi friendly relations.

The New Parliament Building has been completed and handed over to the Malawian side. The framework of the Five-Star Hotel and International Conference Center has been erected. We also held the ground-breaking ceremony of the secondary school in Thyolo last December.

The economic and trade cooperation between China and Malawi has reached a new high. Last year, the two-way trade volume has surpassed 100 million US dollars. More and more Chinese enterprises come to invest in Malawi.

The people-to-people exchanges have been flourishing. Malawi attended the Shanghai World Expo and won two awards. More than 1300 Malawian people visited China last year. The two governments signed an agreement on cultural cooperation, to strengthen the exchanges and cooperation in the area of culture.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A new year means a new beginning. Looking into the year 2011, I am full of confidence that it will be another fruitful year for China-Malawi relations.

The Karonga-Chitipa Road will be completed and open to traffic by the end of this year, fulfilling a long-cherished dream of Malawian people. The two projects of Malawi University of Science and Technology, the National Stadium are expected to be inaugurated.

Under the framework of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), China will build an agricultural demonstration center, two solar pilot projects, one biogas pilot project and a China-Malawi friendship School for Malawi.

The cooperation in the fields of culture, education, health, sports, youth, etc. will be further strengthened. We are collaborating with the University of Malawi to establish a Confucius Institute in Lilongwe, to introduce Chinese language and culture to more Malawians. We will also provide more than 30 new Chinese Government Scholarships to Malawi this year.

I firmly believe that with joint and concerted efforts from both sides, China-Malawi friendly relations will make new headway in the new year.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please allow me to speak some words with my fellow compatriots in Chinese.

各位同胞：

新春佳节即将到来。首先，我代表中国驻马拉维大使馆全体人员，给大家拜个早年。祝大家兔年工作顺利、身体健康、阖家幸福！

过去一年，中马关系发展很快，特别是我们几个大的援助项目进展迅速，赢得马拉维政府和人民的赞赏，树立中国人言必信、行必果和勤奋的形象。另外，我们在布兰太尔、利隆圭两个城市建立了华人商会，并在使馆领导下做了很多有益的事情。我也借此机会，感谢大家一年多来对使馆工作的大力支持。

大家远离祖国，在异国他乡工作和生活，非常不容易。希望大家在商会的领导下，相互帮助，继续发扬团结协作的好传统，共同维护在马中国人的利益。同时，也希望大家能够遵守当地的法律法规，尊重当地人，与当地民众和谐共处。

中国驻马使馆将始终坚持“外交为民”的理念，积极为大家排忧解难，能帮就帮，尽全力为大家服务。希望大家把使馆当成自己的家，常回家看看。

最后，希望大家春节期间加强安全防范，度过一个欢乐祥和、平平安安的春节。谢谢大家。

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Finally, I would like to invite you all to raise your glasses and join me for a toast.

For the prosperity of China and Malawi!

For the development of China-Malawi friendly relations in the New Year!

For the health of all the guests present!

Cheers! 干杯！