Dear friends, brothers & sisters in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), I am Fei Mingxing, Chinese Consul General in Durban.

Today is the New Year’s day of 2023. I wish you and your family happiness and prosperity.

January 1, 2023 marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of South Africa.

On this festive occasion, I would like to express heartfelt thanks to friends from all walks of life in KZN, for your contribution to the establishment of diplomatic relations, and the development of mutual cooperation between China and South Africa!

Particularly, I wish to pay tribute to Mr. Nelson Mandela, for his vision for the relations of our two countries.

Over the past twenty five years, our relations have registered a major leap from the partnership, the strategic partnership to the comprehensive strategic partnership. Chinese President Xi Jinping paid three state visits to South Africa since 2013.

Over the past twenty five years, our bilateral trade volume has increased from US$1.4 billion in 1998 to US$54.35 billion in 2021. China has been South Africa's largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years, and its cumulative investment in South Africa has exceeded US$25 billion, creating more than 400,000 local jobs.

Over the past twenty five years, our special friendly relations of "comrades plus brothers" has continued to deepen, and our cooperation expanded, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples.

We supported each other in fighting COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

After South Africa was hit by severe floods in April 2022, President Xi Jinping sent a message to President Cyril Ramaphosa to express his condolences. Chinese companies and community members especially those in KZN, provided batches of disaster relief funds and materials to the affected brothers and sisters.

Twenty-five years of achievements have been wonderful, and looking forward to the future is full of expectations.

Most recently, the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the 55th National Conference of African National Congress were respectively convened, opening new opportunities of cooperation for both parties and countries.

Let’s join hands and work harder, for the shared future of our two great countries and two peoples.

Happy New Year!

Happy 25th anniversary!