Good morning, everyone. It is a great pleasure for me to meet you via video link for this networking event. On behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Jordan, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of you. I also wish to thank you for the warmth and friendship accorded to me after my arrival in Amman.

2020 will go down in human history as an extraordinary year. The sudden onslaught of COVID-19 pandemic shocked the world in an unprecedented way. The devastation it has caused goes beyond national borders and has deep and far-reaching impact on many aspects of our lives.

As one of you put it very well, borderless virus needs borderless cooperation. COVID-19 reminds us in a very sad way that mankind is a community of shared future. No country can be immune from this global crisis, let alone tackle it single-handedly, now matter how powerful it is. International solidarity and cooperation is the right way and the only way to tackle it. In the fight against COVID-19, China and Jordan have stood shoulder to shoulder and helped each other through thick and thin, reflecting profound friendship between our two peoples.

Dear friends,

China and Jordan enjoy a close and mutually beneficial relationship. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, we have seen enhanced mutual trust, robust cooperation in various areas and mutual support in international affairs. China appreciates the positive role Jordan plays in promoting peace and intercultural dialogue. China always stands together with Jordan and the international community for the legitimate rights of the Palestine people and their just cause. China is Jordan's third largest trading partner and second largest source of imports. Our two countries enjoy huge potential for cooperation in developing infrastructure, production capacity, ICT, new energy and other fields as the economies are highly complementary to each other.

The pandemic has affected China-Jordan economic and trade cooperation to some extent, but we believe it is only temporary. Bucking the trend of decline in overall bilateral trade volume, which fell by 10.39% year-on-year in the first 11 months of 2020, China's import from Jordan increased by 2.62%. I had the pleasure of attending an online match-making event for businesses a few days ago, exploring possibilities of exporting Jordan's olive oil to China.

As China enters a new development stage, we will follow a new development philosophy and foster a new development paradigm with domestic circulation as the mainstay, and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other. Late last month, President Xi Jinping delivered a special address at the World Economic Forum Virtual Event. He reiterated that China would uphold multilateralism and work towards building a community with a shared future for mankind. He reaffirmed China's commitment to implementing a win-win strategy of opening-up and an active part in international cooperation in fighting COVID-19. China believes that vaccines should be public goods that are truly accessible and affordable to people in all countries, and will work for greater accessibility and affordability of COVID vaccines in developing countries.

Dear friends and PhD students,

By the end of 2019, more than 2,800 Jordanians participated in China-Aid Training programs, including around 50 PhD and master program students. Our friends present today are outstanding representatives of them. I am very happy to learn that through the programs, you have come to understand China much better, have contributed to friendship and bilateral cooperation between China and Jordan, and have used your knowledge to build Jordan and benefit her people. I also wish to sincerely thank you for helping China to fight both COVID-19 virus and international political virus.

I won't be taking more time as my colleagues and I are eager to listen to your insight and suggestions on how to strengthen our friendship and cooperation.

The Chinese Lunar New Year is approaching. It is the Year of the Bull which symbolizes hard world and good fortune in Chinese culture. I wish all of you a happy, healthy and bullish year!

Thank you.