February 3 is a special day this year for all the Chinese people around the world, as it marks the start of the Spring Festival or the first day of the Year of the Rabbit, according to the Chinese lunar calendar. The Spring Festival is the most important Chinese festival with a history of more than 3,000 years. The celebration starts with the New Year Eve's "family reunion dinner." Wherever they are, Chinese people, both in China and around the world, would rush back home for the "dinner," when various special foods with different meanings are served. For example, fish means more than abundance, rice cake means going up every year, jiaozi, or dumpling, means to say goodbye to the past year and welcome the new. People light firecrackers to scare away the evil and welcome New Year's fortunes. People visit relatives and friends and exchange gifts and best wishes. Lion and dragon dances and stilts are some of the traditional events associated with the Spring Festival. The Spring Festival lasts 15 days and ends with the Lantern Festival as its finale.
Of the 12 zodiac animals, rabbit, which represents this New Year, is a gentle, lovely animal indicating peace and happiness. As the clock counts down to the Year of the Rabbit, it is a tradition to offer greetings and make wishes. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my best wishes to the people of Trinidad and Tobago, especially to all Chinese living and working here. The Chinese in T&T, hardworking as they always are, continue to play an important role in the overall development of this country. As Chinese ambassador I am proud of their achievement and contribution. I would also like to thank them for their generous support and assistance to the embassy and to the promotion of friendship and co-operation between our two peoples and two countries in the past year and I wish them happiness, prosperity and good fortune in the new year. I wish the Year of the Rabbit will bring continued development and prosperity to both of our countries.
The Year of the Rabbit is the first year of China's 12th Five-Year Plan. Last year, China achieved a GDP growth rate of 10.3 per cent, successfully held the Shanghai World Expo and Guangzhou Asian Games, and made new achievements in hi-tech, such as high-speed railway, super computer, new energy and lunar exploration. China is increasingly viewed by other countries as an opportunity for their own development. In the new year, China will continue to deepen its reform and opening-up, and promote economic development. I am confident that although faced with many challenges, China will continue to make its contribution to the peace, stability and development of the world. The Year of the Rabbit is also important to T&T, as the people of this country elected a new government last year. T&T is an important country in the Caribbean region with great potential for development. It is our sincere wish that this beautiful twin-island country will continue to make progress in its cause for national development under the People's Partnership Government. I also wish that the friendly and co-operative bilateral relationship between China and T&T will continue to expand in the Year of the Rabbit.
China and T&T have always maintained strong relations in the past 37 years of diplomatic relations. Last year, the two countries maintained high-level exchanges, with the successful visits by Stephen Cadiz, Minister of Trade and Industry and Yang Wanming, director general of the Department for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry. The two-way trade between the two countries reached US$300 million by Sep-tember with an increase of 4.6 per cent. While Chinese companies continued their investment here, enterprises from this country also set up their factories in China. Exchanges in the cultural and educational fields flourished. The Tianjin Song and Dance Troupe and the Nanjing Acrobatic Troupe performed at NAPA and other places and left delightful memories on the audience. The steel pan music played by T&T musicians at the Shanghai World Expo was warmly received by the Chinese audience, and a Wushu team, representing this country at the Zhengzhou International Shaolin Wushu Festival in China, brought back a bronze medal.
In addition, the MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) was signed between Confucius Institute Headquarters of China and UWI, and a Chinese language lecturer will arrive to open a Chinese language course at UWI in the new year. I believe there is great potential for the furtherance of our bilateral relations in many aspects. Both of our countries are engaged in the national development that is fundamentally transforming the lives of our peoples. We share the same experiences and face similar challenges on our way forward. I am pleased that the two sides have agreed to co-host the 3rd China and Caribbean Economic Co-operation and Trade Forum in Port-of-Spain this year. It will be a huge opportunity for China, T&T and other Caribbean countries to identify new ways for co-operation in the future.
I trust the future co-operation, just like the co-operation at present and in the past, is in the best interests of our two countries and will benefit our two peoples. I am confident that with the strong commitment from both China and T&T, we will be able to bring the existing friendly and co-operative bilateral relationship to a new level. I also wish the Year of the Rabbit will bring continued peace and stability to the world, and further recovery of the international economy. We are living in a globalised world village, and our wellbeing depends not only on our- selves, but also on others' development and successes.
Happy New Year of the Rabbit!
Yang Youming
Chinese Ambassador to T&T