June 15, 2012　　

　　Distinguished guests and my dear friends, 　　

　　Members of the Diplomatic Corps,　　

　　Ladies and Gentlemen,　　

　　Thank you for attending my farewell reception. As a career diplomat, coming and going is a kind of routine in my life. But this time, to say goodbye to Zimbabwe, is the most difficult one. After working here for almost three years, I fall deeply in love with this beautiful country, with those wonderful people. I have already become a Zimbabwean. I really enjoy working here, because everyone is so nice and so kind to me. I will miss you, all of you, and will miss everything here. I wish I could come back to this beautiful country in the future.　　

　　I felt very lucky when the Chinese government extended my term here for one more month. During the past 30 days, I bid farewell to the Zimbabwean leaders including H.E. President Mugabe and H.E. Prime Minister Tsvangirai, and more than 30 ministers. They all spoke very highly of my work, and called me the most energetic and passionate ambassador. They told me that I earned myself a name through my hard work, which is known to so many ordinary Zimbabweans, that is CHAKNAKA CHAKNAKA. When they gave great comments of my job, I could feel the warm friendship and the sincere affection they have towards the Chinese people. The honor belongs not only to me, but also to my colleagues and all the Chinese diplomats. I wish that the Zimbabwean people will remember me as the ambassador who can sing Zimbabwean national anthem in Shona. I wish even more that CHAKNAKA CHAKNAKA will be the name of my successor and my successor’s successor.　　

　　Ladies and Gentlemen, dear friends,　　

　　As we all know, the traditional friendship between China and Zimbabwe dates back to several decades ago, even before the independence of Zimbabwe. It is deeply rooted in the hearts of our two peoples. During my about 3-year-stay in Zimbabwe, I enjoyed the friendship and support from Zimbabweans everyday. I have tried my best to further strengthen the friendly relations between our two peoples, and to deepen the economic cooperation between our two countries. What we have achieved together makes me proud and happy.　　

　　Our political relations have become even closer. H.E. President Mugabe, vice President Mujuru, vice President Nhkomo have been to China twice respectively during this period of time. Chinese vice Premier Wang Qishan, vice Premier Hui Liangyu and foreign minister Yang Jiechi paid official visits to Zimbabwe. For the other ministerial exchanges, there are too many to mention.　　

　　Our mutually-beneficial economic cooperation has yielded remarkable fruits. When I first came here in 2009, the trade volume between our two countries was 290 million USD. This year, it is expected to exceed 900 million USD. 　　

　　During the past 3 years, Chinese government provided over 600 million USD grant, and 300 million USD concessional loans to the Zimbabwean side. With those grant, we were able to conduct projects such as the orphanage school, the National Sports Stadium, the Defense College, the Netone telecommunication project and so on.　　

　　For donations in kind, there were more than 20 occasions. For instance, 14 million USD worth urgent food aid, 2.4 million USD worth agricultural machineries, 85 vehicles and 200 thousand USD worth office supplies to the parliament.　　

　　The implementation of the following-up measures of “Forum on China-Africa Cooperation” in Zimbabwe was best carried out among all African countries. Two primary schools and the agricultural demonstration center were put into use. The construction of the China-aid hospital was completed and about to hand over to the Zimbabwean side. The solar power project and the borehole drilling project are underway. 15 agricultural experts are working in Zimbabwe. Another 10 agricultural technicians are on their way here. China will build another secondary school and primary school, two small hydro-power stations and a parliament building for Zimbabwe. 　　

　　During my stay here, more and more Chinese companies have come to Zimbabwe. They offered thousands of job opportunities to the local people, and turned in a remarkable number of revenues to the Zimbabwean government.　　

　　Our people-to-people exchanges have reached a new height. The brightness trip visited Zimbabwe twice, having conducted 824 cataract extraction surgeries for Zimbabwean patients free of charge. Hundreds of Chinese artists put on excellent performances here and brought happiness to the Zimbabwean people. In the past three years, the Chinese government has offered around 120 scholarships to Zimbabwean students and trained nearly 1,600 Zimbabwean officials. There are 5 Confucius classrooms in Zimbabwe to teach Chinese. More and more Zimbabwean young people are willing to learn Chinese.　　

　　Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear friends,　　

　　When I came here in 2009, the inclusive government was just established. When I am leaving this weekend, the Zimbabwean society is stable, the economy is on the fast development track. I am so happy to see these. I really appreciate the efforts of all parties concerned to safeguard Zimbabwe’s national sovereignty, to achieve national reconciliation, and to rejuvenate the economy. On the future development road, the Zimbabwean people will always have the Chinese people standing together with you. 　　

　　As I stand here to bid farewell to you, my feeling is very complicated. I want to, on behalf of my wife, thank you all for the warm friendship and firm support you gave to me. I will miss you dearly, and I’ll always cherish the wonderful memory of Zimbabwe.　　

　　Finally, allow me to propose a toast, to the peace and development of Zimbabwe, to the ever-lasting friendship between our two peoples, and to the prosperity of both China and Zimbabwe.　　

　　Cheers!