For the unity and friendship of the peoples of Asia
——President Xi Jinping held a welcome banquet for international guests attending the opening ceremony of the Hangzhou Asian Games
During the autumnal equinox, the land of the river is fragrant; Under the Leifeng Pagoda, the shore of Xizi Lake is cloudy with smoke and rain.
"It is a great pleasure to gather with all new and old friends on the beautiful shores of West Lake to welcome the 19th Asian Games."
At noon on September 23, President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan held a banquet at the Yiyuan of Xizi Hotel in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, to welcome international VIPs who came to China to attend the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou.
The Hangzhou Asian Games is the largest and highest level international comprehensive sports event held in China after the victory of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and it is also the third time that the Asian Games have come to China. More than 12,000 athletes from 45 countries and regions in Asia gathered in Hangzhou to attend the Asian Games covenant of "Heart to Heart, Love for the Future". Leaders of many Asian countries and heads of international sports organizations and other distinguished guests attended the opening ceremony.
At 11:45, in front of the huge landscape painting "Water and Sunshine", President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan warmly welcomed King Sihamoni of Cambodia, Syrian President Bashar and his wife Asma, Kuwaiti Crown Prince Mishal, Nepalese Prime Minister Prachanda, Timor-Leste Prime Minister Xanana, South Korean Prime Minister Han Deok-so, Malaysian House of Commons Speaker Johari and his wife Noleni, Olympic Council of Asia Acting President Singh and his wife Venita, IOC President Bach and other international distinguished guests, shook hands and exchanged greetings with them one by one. And take a group photo.
In the banquet hall, the main background showing the scenery of West Lake creates an open image of water and sky. The azure "Fuchun Mountain Residence Map" shows the beautiful charm of Jiangnan landscape. On the main dining table, from the ancestral peaks of Baishan to Dachen Island in the East China Sea, from the "Three Pools and Seal Moon" to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, from the Qiantang River to Anjiyu Village, Zhejiang landmarks are slightly abbreviated as landscapes, and the 19 turquoise tracks symbolizing the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou are in harmony, outlining the magnificent picture of the green waters and mountains of the river.
Amid the music of "Peace - Community of Shared Destiny", President Xi Jinping strode onto the podium and delivered a warm speech.
"Today is the autumnal equinox solar term of the Chinese lunar calendar. On this day of harvest and reunion, the Asian Games flame will be lit again in China. ”
Looking back on the process of organizing the Asian Games and describing China's philosophy of hosting the Games, President Xi Jinping explained the value of the Hangzhou Asian Games to Asia and the world with the idea that "the Asian Games carry the beautiful yearning of the Asian people for peace, unity and tolerance", and demonstrated the profound thinking of using sports as a medium to promote human progress.
"Peace through sport" -
The Asian Games, born shortly after the end of World War II, were born and prospered by peace. For decades, the Asian Games have witnessed the Asian miracle of "unique scenery" in the overall peaceful and stable regional environment, and also recorded China's solid steps in blending with Asia and the world on the road of peaceful development.
At the banquet, the Beijing Asian Games song "Asian Heroes" and the Hangzhou Asian Games theme song "Together with Love", which carry the collective memory of the Chinese people, conveyed China's unchanged original intention of promoting unity and self-improvement and common destiny among Asian countries.
Looking at the world, the great changes unprecedented in a century have accelerated their evolution, and Asia's peaceful development is facing many new challenges.
"As a community with a shared future linked by mountains and seas and people-to-people affinity, we must promote peace through sports, adhere to goodwill and mutual benefit and win-win results with our neighbors, resist the Cold War mentality and camp confrontation, and build Asia into a stable anchor for world peace." President Xi Jinping's firm declaration carries the ardent expectations of the Chinese people and the people of Asian countries to jointly protect the peaceful homeland.
Kuwait's Crown Prince Mishal said that President Xi Jinping's proposal to jointly build the "Belt and Road" initiative and the global development initiative, global security initiative and global civilization initiative is of great significance based on the lofty goal and purpose of promoting the peace and progress of mankind, and Kuwait firmly supports and actively participates.
"Sport for solidarity" -
The Hangzhou Asian Games attracted athletes from all over Asia and all regions to participate enthusiastically, with the number of participants, project settings and overall scale all reaching record highs, and many national and regional Olympic Committees listed it as the most important event of the year. At this Asian Games, the 45 members of the Olympic Council of Asia achieved a "great reunion".
"Climb together when encountering mountains, cross together when encountering ditches", "sugar cane grows in the same cave, and lemongrass grows in thickets", President Xi Jinping once quoted these Asian proverbs to describe the Asian value concept of unity and cooperation. The grand occasion of the Hangzhou Asian Games showed the world that despite the chaos and intertwining of international and regional situations, the Asian people's cherishing of friendship and yearning for unity are unstoppable.
The day before the opening, President Xi Jinping met with his old friend IOC President Bach. Bach spoke highly of the Chinese government's important contribution to the international Olympic movement, saying that "at present, the world is facing various difficulties such as geopolitical conflicts, and the IOC is committed to defending multilateralism and opposing the politicization of sports, and appreciates the correct position taken by China."
Meeting with President Xi Jinping again after more than half a year, King Sihamoni of Cambodia said: "I firmly believe that under the strong leadership of President Xi Jinping, China will once again be able to present a wonderful sports event to the world and make new contributions to promoting the unity and friendship of the Asian family." ”
In his speech at the banquet, President Xi Jinping's words were resounding: "We must promote unity through sports, seize historical opportunities, cooperate to cope with challenges, practice the Olympic Council of Asia motto of 'always moving forward', and broaden the road of common development, openness and integration in Asia." ”
"Sport for inclusion" –
At the banquet, artists from the Zhejiang Song and Dance Theater Chinese Orchestra and Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra played Chinese music with local characteristics such as "Tea Picking Dance", and Cambodia's "Remembering China", Syria's "Dream Flower", Timor-Leste's "East Timor Welcome You", Nepal's "Silk Dance", Kuwait's "The National Flag Flying High", South Korea's "Love", Malaysia's "Grandma's Scarf" and other music, converged into a harmonious symphony of different Asian civilizations and symbiosis, beauty and commonality.
Asia is an important birthplace of human civilization, and Asian cultures are eclectic, diverse and vibrant. Martial arts, rattan ball, ke jiu-jitsu, kabadi, go... At the Hangzhou Asian Games, the events with different regional and cultural characteristics demonstrated the confidence, tolerance and openness of Asian civilization.
"We should promote tolerance through sports, enhance self-confidence in civilization, adhere to exchanges and mutual learning, and continue to write a new glory of Asian civilization." President Xi Jinping spoke of the profound relationship between sports and civilization.
Hangzhou, since ancient times, has been a place of prosperity of humanities and civilizations, which was praised by Ouyang Xiu of the Song Dynasty as "the beauty of mountains and rivers, the complexity of characters", and was also praised by Marco Polo as "the most beautiful and luxurious heavenly city in the world". During this Asian Games, Asian athletes from all countries and regions will experience the charm of this historical and cultural city, a city of innovation and vitality and an ecological civilization city inside and outside the Games, and will also enhance understanding and friendship through mutual exchanges and exchanges.
In his speech, President Xi Jinping warmly introduced Zhejiang Province, where the host city of the Asian Games is located, to the international guests: "Zhejiang adheres to reform and opening up, has accelerated high-quality development, is building a common prosperity demonstration area, and is a pioneer of China's modernization. ”
Today's river reflects the extraordinary course of China's development. President Xi Jinping has worked in Zhejiang for many years. Under the kind care of President Xi Jinping, Zhejiang has written a wonderful story of Chinese-style modernization with the pioneering spirit and forging practice of "making the tide stand on the waves", opening a window for Asia and the world to observe contemporary China and future China.
Before the opening of the Hangzhou Asian Games, President Xi Jinping specially arranged three and a half days to meet cordially with new and old friends at the West Lake State Guesthouse. Unanimously, many international distinguished guests expressed their admiration for China's brilliant achievements under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, and believed that China will achieve greater achievements on the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
"I wish everyone an unforgettable time in Zhejiang and leave a good memory under the flame of the Asian Games." President Xi Jinping's sincere words touched people's hearts.
In this harvest and reunion season, President Xi Jinping and international VIPs attended the opening ceremony of the Hangzhou Asian Games. The Hangzhou Asian Games, which is "Chinese characteristics, Asian style and splendid", continues to write a new chapter in China's promotion of building a community with a shared future in Asia and a community with a shared future for mankind in the new era.
(Hangzhou, 23 September (Xinhua) -- Reporters Liu Hua, Yang Yijun, Wang Bin, and Yin Xiaosheng)
Guangming Daily(Version 03, September 24, 2023)
Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily