2015年CRI President Xi Addresses British Parliament

 

President Xi Jinping, accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan, received a grand and warm welcome on Tuesday in London.

The welcoming activities reflected the great importance the UK attaches to its relations with China. While addressing the British parliament in the afternoon, President Xi echoed the same sentiment.

"Although my visit has just started, I am already deeply impressed by the vitality¹ of the China-UK relations and the profound relationship between our peoples."

Xi's audience included British Prime Minister David Cameron and politicians from all parties in the UK.

During his speech, Xi praised the UK for its long and active engagement with China.

"Since the founding of the new China in 1949, our two countries have led the way in a number of areas in terms of bilateral² relations. The UK is the first western power to recognize the new China, and the first EU member to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership³ with China. The UK is the leading offshore⁴ RMB trading centre after Hong Kong. The UK hosts more Chinese students and Confucius institutes than any other EU member country."

Looking forward, Xi expressed great enthusiasm for an even brighter future for China-UK relations.

"Shakespeare wrote 'what has passed is prologue⁵.' We are in an age of pursuing peace and development. It is also an age when countries have to meet challenges and work together. As a Chinese saying goes, a mountain can never be too high, nor an ocean too deep. This great new age enables both of us to join hands and move forward from the new departure point of our comprehensive strategic partnership."

The Chinese president also called on British lawmakers to lead the way in further strengthening Sino-British cooperation.

"I hope you will, as we Chinese often say, stand higher to see further. I hope that you will continue to promote the UK's relation with China, strengthen our friendship and support our cooperation. And I hope that you will build a bridge of understanding and cooperation so to help us to create a brighter and more promising⁶ future for out bilateral ties."

On Wednesday, President Xi will hold talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron. A number of deals are expected to be signed between governments, financial institutions and enterprises in various fields. The state visit will conclude on Friday.

For CRI, I'm Qian Shanming.

1 vitality   

n.活力，生命力，效力

参考例句：

• He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。

2 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

3 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

4 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

5 prologue   

n.开场白，序言；开端，序幕

参考例句：

• A poor wedding is a prologue to misery.不幸的婚姻是痛苦的开始。
• The prologue to the novel is written in the form of a newspaper account.这本小说的序言是以报纸报道的形式写的。

6 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。