Chinese Embassy in Laos celebrates 63rd National Day

The Chinese Embassy in Laos held a reception here on Friday to celebrate the 63rd anniversary of the foundation of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Speaking at the reception, Chinese Ambassador to Laos Bu Jianguo said, "Since the founding of the People's Republic of China 63 years ago, earthshaking changes have taken place in the country. It is particularly noteworthy that in entering the new century, China's economic and social development has made a historic leap forward between 2002 to 2012."

"In the first half of this year, in face of the complexities in the international economic landscape, the Chinese Government has followed the overall principle of making progress while maintaining stability, and achieved steady and fast economic growth," Bu said.

The China-Laos relations have continued their strong growth this year. The highest leaders of the two countries have kept the tradition of annual meetings. The exchange of high-level visits is frequent. The strategic mutual trust has deepened. The cooperation in business, trade, finance, investment, culture, education and other fields is deepening and becoming more and more fruitful, Bu noted.

In order to actively support Laos' hosting of the 9th ASEM Summit, the Chinese government has made an important political decision. It has sent leading enterprises in China's construction sector to assist Laos in building a National Convention Center, and they are also actively involved in the reconstruction and extension of Vientiane Wattay International Airport, as well as the building of ASEM leaders' villa district and other supporting projects for the summit.

Overcoming such difficulties as tight schedule, huge workload, and limited manpower, the Chinese construction companies have worked tirelessly, employed state of the art construction technologies and materials, ensured the quality of the projects, and accomplished this challenging task in a short span of nine months. This laid a solid material foundation for the opening of the summit, Bu said.

"The grand National Convention Center in the center of Vientiane will witness the historic moment of Laos stepping into the spotlight of the international stage. It will also become a new landmark of the longstanding friendship between our two peoples," the Chinese ambassador said.

Lao Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad and some 300 guests, including Lao government officials, representatives of Chinese-invested enterprises, Chinese nationals and students in Laos, and some foreign diplomats, attended the reception.

China and Laos established diplomatic ties on April 25, 1961.