Jointly address the challenges of our times, create a future of peace, and build a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability——Remarks by H.E. Ambassador Xie Feng at the reception marking the 99th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army

Deputy Assistant Secretary Alvaro Smith,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Dear friends,

It is a great pleasure to gather with you to celebrate the 99th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). First of all, I would like to extend my warmest festive greetings to all servicemen and servicewomen of the PLA, and also express my sincere thanks to all friends who have long cared for China’s national defense and the development of China-U.S. relations.

This year marks the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. Under the firm leadership of the Party, the PLA has traveled an extraordinary path, and now proudly stands as a powerful and disciplined force for peace. On the new journey in the new era, guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Strengthening the Military, the PLA has the confidence and capability to provide strong support for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and make greater contributions to peace and stability in the world. 

As we gather today, the world is far from tranquil. Geopolitical conflicts continue to drag on, bloc confrontation is making a comeback, and the international security landscape remains fragile. Unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, while both traditional and emerging challenges, including AI, climate change, and public health, are increasingly intertwined. The more turbulent the waters are, the more we need to keep to the right direction and step up to the plate. In the face of changes of the world, our times, and history, China firmly pursues peace, development, cooperation, and win-win results, and stays committed to being a force for peace, stability, and progress.

China is a ballast for world peace and stability. For China, peaceful development is not an expediency, but a decision grounded in our civilization and a committed choice by our people throughout history. Chinese culture values harmony without uniformity, and amity among all nations. The ancient Silk Road connected the East with the West, not with warhorses and gunboats, but with camel caravans and treasure-loaded ships. Over the past seven decades and more since the founding of the People’s Republic, China has never started a war or conflict, and it is the only major country that has written peaceful development into its Constitution and the charter of its ruling party.

China pursues a national defense policy that is defensive in nature. It commits to no-first-use of nuclear weapons, and never engages in any nuclear arms race. The reason we are modernizing our national defense and army is to safeguard our own legitimate security interests, and also to better uphold regional and global strategic stability.

China today is the second largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping budget, and the top contributor of peacekeepers among the five permanent members of the Security Council. China’s development means a growing force for world peace and stability. No matter how the international situation evolves and how far China develops, we will never seek hegemony or expansion, nor will we seek any sphere of influence. On the contrary, we are committed to remaining a pillar of world peace and stability.

China is a problem-solver for international challenges and crises. Today, deficits in peace, development, security, and governance keep growing, and no country could stay immune. Unilateralism will only give rise to strife, zero-sum game will only intensify confrontation, and hegemonism and bullying will only fuel turmoil. After proposing the important vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity, President Xi Jinping has creatively put forward the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative, which have injected strong impetus into the efforts to build a better world, and contributed China’s wisdom to tackling challenges of the era.

China’s vision is not just a statement on paper, but is delivered through concrete action. More than 150 countries are sharing the benefits of Belt and Road cooperation. The over 1,800 programs in the project pool under the Global Development Initiative are making notable progress. From the Group of Friends for Peace on the Ukraine crisis to the four-point proposal on promoting peace and stability in the Middle East, and from the launch of the International Organization for Mediation to the UN resolution on establishing the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations, China has always promoted talks for peace, upheld openness and cooperation, and advocated extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, thus instilling stability, certainty, and constructive momentum into a volatile world.

China is a pioneer in making the world a better place through win-win cooperation. China’s further development brings new opportunities to the entire world. New quality productive forces represented by digital economy, AI, electric vehicles, and low-altitude economy have not only profoundly reshaped China, but also provided more options for global development. While driving the new round of technological revolution, AI has also posed governance, security, and ethical challenges. At the 2026 World AI Conference held recently, President Xi Jinping called for joint efforts to adhere to the principle of openness and win-win, and boost innovation-driven development; to strengthen risk-awareness, and ensure that AI is secure and controllable; to encourage inclusiveness, and promote mutual learning between civilizations; and to advocate solidarity, and improve global governance. We have initiated the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO), and we welcome the United States and other countries to participate.

I believe many of you here have also noticed the successful maiden flight and the world’s first-ever net-capture recovery of the Long March 10B carrier rocket, a major breakthrough in reusable rocket technology. China sets its sights on the vast universe not to seek hegemony or colonization, but to help push the boundaries of human knowledge, facilitate the progress of science and technology, and promote openness and win-win cooperation.

Dear friends,

Under the current situation, as the world’s two largest economies, permanent members of the UN Security Council, and nuclear-weapon states, China and the United States share a special and important responsibility for maintaining world peace and stability and advancing global development and prosperity. We have every obligation to pursue dialogue and cooperation, and no single reason for conflict or confrontation. During their historic summit in Beijing this May, President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump agreed to build a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability, making clear that our two countries will work toward a relationship with cooperation as the mainstay, competition within proper limits, manageable differences, and expectable peace, and explore a right way to get along in the new era.

It needs to be noted that the stabilizing and improving momentum in China-U.S. relations has not come easily, and should be doubly cherished. The most important thing now is to take concrete actions to faithfully implement the common understandings reached between the two Presidents, translate the new vision of a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability into real actions , and keep expanding the list for cooperation while shortening the list of problems.

Meanwhile, China will resolutely safeguard its sovereignty, security, and development interests. Taiwan, democracy and human rights, path and system, and development rights are China’s four red lines, which should not be challenged.  “Taiwan independence” and cross-Strait peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water.  We hope the U.S. side will adhere to the one-China principle and the three Sino-U.S. Joint Communiqués, and exercise extra caution in handling the Taiwan question.

Both history and reality have proven time and again that the world is large enough for China and the U.S. to develop respectively and thrive together. Facing so many challenges during our times, it is all the more important for China and the U.S. to live up to our shared responsibility for the global good.

At this new historical starting point, we hope the U.S. side will work with us in the same direction to advance international cooperation through our constructive interactions, and promote world peace with bilateral strategic stability, so as to jointly explore a right way to get along in the new era based on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win−win cooperation, and make new contributions to human peace and development.

Thank you very much.