Distinguished Cedric Frolick, House Chairperson at National Assembly,
Honorable Consul-General Lin Jing,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends.

Good evening! It is my great pleasure to take part in the Opening and Unveiling Ceremony of the Chinese Bridge Club in Cape Town.

First of all, on behalf of the Chinese Embassy in South Africa, I would like to congratulate the Club on its establishment.

I thank Honorable Chairperson Frolick, Dr. Surve and all our guests today for your participation and great support.

Although China and South Africa are far apart, we enjoy a time-honored friendship. Our relationship has been constantly refined in our struggles against imperialism, colonialism and racism.

We have made significant improvement through solidarity and cooperation for mutual benefit.

 
Over the past 23 years of diplomatic relations, our two countries made a significant leap from having a partnership, a strategic partnership to comprehensive strategic partnership.

Our relations have set a fine example for China-Africa relations, South-South cooperation and cooperation among emerging market countries and is having greater global strategic relevance.

Under the joint leadership of successive leaders of the two countries, especially President Xi Jinping and President Ramaphosa, our two countries have deepened mutual political trust, continued to expand pragmatic cooperation.

We enjoy colorful people-to-people exchanges and closer international collaboration.

Friendship between nations lies in people-to-people exchanges, which is all about communication between human beings.

People-to-people exchanges have always been the highlight of cooperation between our two countries.
Since the PPEM mechanism between the two countries started in 2017, people-to-people exchanges have entered a stage of all-round development at all levels, covering education, culture, health, media, sports, tourism, youth, women, think tanks and many other fields.

Despite COVID-19, the people-to-people exchanges between us have not stopped. The hearts and minds of our two peoples are connected, and the enthusiasm for cooperation remains high.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends,
China is an ancient civilization with a long history and splendid culture, which has long been at the forefront of the world in history and has made remarkable contributions to the progress of human civilization.

This year marks the CPC’s centenary. Under the CPC’s strong leadership, the Chinese civilization has taken on a new look in the process of modernization and has continued to create new glories.

The Chinese language is an important carrier of Chinese civilization and the "golden key" for our two peoples to enhance mutual understanding and promote exchanges and cooperation in various fields.

In recent years, more and more South Africans have started to learn Chinese and understand Chinese culture. A "Chinese language fever" has continued to rise in South Africa.

The six Confucius Institutes and three Confucius Classrooms here have enrolled more than 10,000 students in various programs. These efforts have been widely praised by all communities in South Africa.

The South African government has formally incorporated Chinese language teaching into the national curriculum.

The "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition is known as the "Olympics" of the international Chinese learning community.

After 20 years of development, the competition has become a featured event with good world influence. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the South African contestants on being crowned the African champion in last year's Global Finals.

This year, with our joint efforts of China and South Africa, and the push from the Chinese Language Exchange and Cooperation Center of China’s Ministry of Education, the first Chinese Bridge Club in sub-Saharan Africa and the 11th in the world was successfully established in Cape Town, South Africa.

This is a great honor for the Chinese language education community in South Africa and full recognition of their work.

We believe that the Club will not only further unite and serve Chinese Bridge stakeholders and Chinese language lovers in South Africa, but also build a bridge for our South African friends to understand China and make friends.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends,
We Chinese people often say, “Delicious soup is made by combining different ingredients”.

China and South Africa both have long and splendid civilizations. China is ready to continue to work with South Africa to carry our civilizations, tap into their wisdom, enhance dialogue, and set an example of the harmonious coexistence of different civilizations.

I am confident, that the Chinese Bridge Club will enjoy further and better development and will make greater contributions to promoting people-to-people exchanges between our two countries and to building a closer China-South Africa and China-Africa community with a shared future.

The Chinese Embassy, Consulates General in South Africa and I will continue to do our best to support the mutual learning and appreciation of civilizations and the teaching of Chinese language in South Africa.
I thank you all!