Distinguished Guests, Dear Friends,

    Kuzuzangpo la!

    It is a great pleasure to reunite with you in beautiful Thimphu. We are here to welcome both the Chinese and Bhutanese Lunar New Year of the Horse. On behalf of the Chinese Embassy in India, I would like to extend my warmest festive greetings to you all.

    In China, the horse symbolizes excellence and success. In Bhutan, it is a sacred messenger of blessings and auspiciousness. For both our nations, the Year of the Horse signifies gathering strength and the arrival of good fortune. This year marks the start of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan. On the road to high-quality development and Chinese modernization, we are riding a galloping Horse with pride. Similarly, Bhutan is adding the whip to the Horse in its own journey toward modernization, integrating its profound Gross National Happiness philosophy with the innovative creation of the Gelephu Mindfulness City. Driven by the dual engines of renewable energy and digital economy, Bhutan is safeguarding its profound cultural heritage while adopting a forward-looking stance, and demonstrating to the world a new model for sustainable development.

    Tonight, we are delighted to host artists from the Zhejiang Wu Opera Research Center. Zhejiang province is a land of beauty and my beloved hometown. Wu Opera is its cultural treasure, refined over 500 years. The sound of drums and gongs in Thimphu is not just an artistic display, but a dialogue between civilizations across the Himalayas. China and Bhutan are connected by mountains and rivers. Our friendship is as pure as the snow. Together, let us protect our heritage like our own eyes, and nurture our friendship like our own kin.

    Distinguished guests, Dear friends,

    In this season of sowing hope, let us pray together for the prosperity and peace of both China and Bhutan.

    In this Year of the Horse, I wish for our bilateral relations to maintain the “spirit of the Dragon-Horse”, vibrant and full of vitality, as we strive for even greater progress!

    May your career and aspirations achieve instant success as the Horse arrives, and may everything go as you wish! Tashi Delek!