Xi's Address at Royal Gallery Scaled Sino-UK Relations Higher

Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses both Houses of British Parliament in London, Britain, Oct. 20, 2015. [Photo: Xinhua/Rao Aimin]

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Madame Peng Liyuan, formally began their first state visit to the UK and this is China's first state visit in almost a decade. Following the colorful and euphoric ride down the Mall to Buckingham palace, later President Xi visited the UK Parliament where he was scheduled to address the UK parliament.

When President Xi entered the Royal Gallery he was greeted by More than 500 people, including Lord Speaker Frances D'Souza of the House of Lords, Speaker John Bercow of the House of Commons, Prime Minister David Cameron and Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn. The President began his address to the House of Commons and the House of Lords at the Royal Gallery by acknowledging the honor bestowed upon him to be speaking to "the mother of all parliaments".

President Xi's address though only lasted 11 minutes but it was certainly in harmony with the tone of welcome set by UK in affording him the highest standards of British hospitality. But with in the span of a mere 11 minutes the Chinese President was able to leave a lasting impression on his audience. He acknowledged past and recent convergences, praised exchanges between the legislation, exchanges in education, gave recognition to the endeavors of people on both extremes of the Eurasian continent who have promoted and prompted peace, made use of famous Chinese proverbs to emphasize the significance of Sino-UK relations and also exhibited a taste for English literature by quoting "what's past is prologue" from William Shakespeare's play "The Tempest" which put smiles on the faces of the British parliamentarians.

President Xi in his address admitted that, though it is just the beginning of his first state visit to the UK but he said that, "I am already deeply impressed by the vitality of China-UK relations and the profound friendship between our peoples."

The aura and historic significance of the Gallery prompted the President to reminisce over historic accounts of Yu the great during the Xia dynasty, the president highlighted that the concept of "people being the foundation of a nation" is ingrained in the people of China for almost 4000 years since the time of Yu the great and he added that rule of law is paramount for a nation to develop and prosper.

President Xi admitted that China and the UK geographically lie on the extremities of the Eurasian continent but distance has not kept the two countries apart, in fact it has been through communication efforts and recognizing mutual interests that these distances have been curbed. He said, "the UK was the first Western power to recognize new China and the first EU member to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership with China." The President recognized several convergence points between the UK and China. By acknowledging UK's status as the leading offshore Renminbi trading center after Hong Kong, UK having strong academic ties with China by hosting the most Chinese students and with the most Confucius institutes in the EU, The UK being the first country to issue Renminbi sovereign bonds and the fact that the UK was the first Western country to apply for membership for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. "It is fair to say that China and Britain are increasingly interdependent and becoming a community of shared interests."

Later President Xi touched upon the trying time of WWII where he narrated the story of 24 Chinese naval cadets who participated in the Battle of Normandy and how their gallantry was personally recognized by Winston Churchill. The President also paid tribute to the late Michael Lindsay who had traveled to China in 1938 as an economics teacher and got inspired by the land and its people which prompted him to play a vital role in Chinese people's war of resistance against the Japanese aggression. The president also touched upon the recent account of Anna Cross who is a nurse in the British Army and had been infected with Ebola in the West African nation of Sierra Leone while tackling Ebola, She became the first case in the world to be successfully treated with China's experimental drug. The president also praised the awareness enhancement and philanthropic efforts of Lord Bates who walked for two months and covered 1700KMs under the scorching sun and raised money and awareness.

The President also lauded the efforts and exchanges of the British Parliament in promoting and furthering Sino-UK relations. The President gave special credit to the All Party Parliamentary China Group. At the end of the President's speech he expressed optimism and high hopes, he used a Chinese proverb "scale higher to see further," and hoped that British parliamentarians can continue to promote relations with China. He said "I hope that you will build a bridge of understanding and cooperation so as to help create an even brighter and more promising future of our bilateral ties." The Chinese President kept the best words of advice for last when he intelligently combined two sayings, one from Francis Bacon the English philosopher and statesman and the other from China. He said, "A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds… and an pportunity missed is an opportunity lost."

The Author: Shafei Moiz Hali has a master's degree from George Mason University, Virginia, USA in the field of International Commerce and Public Policy. Mr. Hali has been working as an Assistant Professor at the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, Pakistan with the department of Government and Public Policy Since 2009. Currently he is pursuing his PhD from the College of Public Administration at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), China.