As the Chinese New Year is coming soon, an online Spring Festival Concert starts broadcasting from February 10th, 2021. This event is co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Embassy in India, and performed by China National Symphony Orchestra. H.E. Chinese Ambassador to India, Mr. Sun Weidong made a keynote speech on the event. He thanked all the friends who support the development of China and China-India relations, and he also expressed his good wishes in the Year of the Ox to the friends in both countries.

Ambassador Sun said that the year 2020 was an extraordinary year for China, India and the whole world. The outbreak of COVID-19 brought both unprecedented challenges and profound inspiration to human society. President Xi Jinping pointed out that the way to solve the problems facing the world is through upholding multilateralism and building a community with a shared future for mankind. As the only two major developing countries with a population of more than 1 billion in the world, China and India shoulder important responsibilities in maintaining global peace and stability and promoting common development. We should fulfill our responsibilities as a major country and make due contributions to overcoming the pandemic at an early date and promoting world economic recovery.

Ambassador Sun said that China and India are both emerging economies and major neighboring countries. Maintaining the sound and steady development of China-India relations serves the fundamental interests of the two countries and two peoples. China and India are partners rather than rivals. We pose no threat but offer development opportunities to each other. This is the fundamental judgment made by the two leaders on China-India relations. It provides strategic direction and political cornerstone for bilateral relations. We should firmly stay committed to it. We should follow the important consensus reached by our leaders, take a far-sighted approach and meet each other halfway. We should uphold autonomy, peaceful development and good-neighborly friendship, seek consensus through candid dialogue, and implement consensus through concrete actions. We need to put the boundary question in an appropriate place in bilateral relations and not allow our differences to become disputes. We need to increase mutual trust through communication, properly handle differences through consultation, and actively promote practical cooperation to bring China-India relations back on the right track of sound and steady development.

Ambassador Sun said that people of our two countries are the fundamental forces driving the development of bilateral relations. Friendship between the two peoples is an important foundation for the friendship between the two countries. Culture and art serve as an important bond of friendship and mutual understanding between our peoples. By inviting the China National Symphony Orchestra to hold this online Spring Festival Concert, we hope to build a new platform for friendly exchanges between our two peoples.

Ambassador Sun said the Chinese culture is known for its openness and inclusiveness. We are committed to stimulating vitality through openness and fostering innovation through integration. Openness embodies confidence, brings opportunities, and paves a new path. The Online Spring Festival concert presents an open and inclusive China where Eastern and Western cultures meet. We wish music could convey friendship and connect our hearts. In the future, China will embrace the world with a more open attitude and contribute the dynamic achievements of Chinese civilization to the world. We are committed to promoting mutual understanding and friendship between China and the rest of the world to jointly create better tomorrow for human kinds.

The China National Symphony Orchestra presented an artistic feast for the audience. The concert kicked off in the "Spring Festival Overture". Folk songs such as "Going to Watch Yangge Dance" and "Flowing Stream" show the versatility of Chinese culture. "My Chinese Heart" presents the magnificent and extraordinary momentum of Chinese civilization. The orchestral "Reba Dance" made the audience feel the unique customs of China's ethnic minority areas. The concert specially prepared "AWAARA HOON" and "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" adapted from Indian films, which brought the Concert closer to Indian audiences. "Overture to Die Fledermaus", "Leichtes Blut Polka (schnell)" and other world-famous musics let the audience deeply feel the everlasting charm of music to cross history and borders.

The Online "Spring Festival Concert" will be broadcasted on social media platforms such as Youtube and Twitter from February 10 to March.