Author: Tian Xuejun.

It's a great pleasure for me to attend this Ambassadorial Forum marking 15 years of China-South Africa diplomatic relations. Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival in China, which is also known as the Moon-cake Festival. This is a day for happiness and family reunion. It's very symbolic that we gather here today with so many friends from both China and South Africa, to review what we have achieved in the past 15 years and to look ahead into the future. To begin with, I wish to extend, on behalf of the Chinese Embassy, our warmest greetings to all the guests present today. Thank you for your long-time commitment and contribution to China-South Africa friendship and cooperation. This forum is one of a series of events marking the 15th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and South Africa, and I look forward to learning from your thoughts and insights for the future development of our relationship.