Let me warmly welcome the arrival of the Chinese Medical Team in Papua New Guinea and its commencement of medical services to the PNG people.

In April this year, upon the request of the PNG Government, the Chinese Government agreed to send a medical team of eight specialists to work at the General Hospital in Port Moresby for a period of two years. They are all medical experts with rich clinical experience badly needed by this country. The Chinese Government will pay their salary and also provide with some US$ 36, 000 worth of medical equipment and medicine each year for the team's use.

Apart from assistance in the health sector, the Chinese Government has for years helped PNG with quite a few development projects and many goods since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the two countries 26 years ago.

Over these years, satisfactory achievements have been registered in bilateral trade and economic cooperation on the basis of mutual benefits. The recent years have witnessed a more robust growth of the Chinese assistance in agricultural technical projects such as cultivation of wheat, dry rice, juncao (mushrooms) and hybrid rice. We hope all the aid programs provided by the Chinese Government can be of some help in meeting the essential needs of the PNG people.

With a GDP growth rate of 7.8 % in the past 10 months this year and an average growth rate of 9.3 % in the last 13 consecutive years, China has been regarded as the country enjoying the fastest economic development the world over. The irrevocable globalization has made China more closely integrated with the rest of the world. China now ranks the 4th in terms of industrial capacity and the 6th in terms of trade volume. Currently more than 400 of the world's top 500 multinationals have been operating in China. Meanwhile, Chinese enterprises this year have invested throughout the world some 6, 700 projects totaling US $13.2 billion. It is estimated that if China maintains the annual growth rate of 7 %, it will occupy the 3rd place on the world economic stage by the year 2020. As China, the most populous country in the world, is proceeding towards the complete realization of the well-off society, its economic take-off is bound to make greater contribution to the world peace and development.

China is broadly agreed to have a splendid prospect and the country will achieve its complete reunification in due course. The Chinese Government highly appreciates the PNG Government's adherence to the one-China policy and the Chinese people will never forget Papua New Guinea's valuable support in this regard even when the Taiwan issue is finally resolved. As known to all, Taiwan is a province of China and has always been part of China's sacred territory since ancient times. There is only one China in the world. Both the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China, and China's sovereignty and territorial integrity are inseparable. This one-China policy has been supported by the United Nations and more than 160 countries in the world. The early reunification of the motherland is the common aspiration of the Chinese people at home and abroad making one fifth of the world's total populaton.  As the Chinese Government has successively resolved issues of Hong Kong and Macao, it will surely have ability and wisdom to tackle the Taiwan issue. Just recently, President Jiang Zemin again solemnly declared that the Taiwan question must not be allowed to drag on indefinitely. Once time is ripe, the entire Chinese people will safeguard our state sovereignty and territorial integrity with firm resolve. We will never allow anyone to separate Taiwan from China in any way.

China is a big market with a population of 1.3 billion people and its economy is booming fast with a strong momentum and high demand.  PNG is blessed with abundant resources, and a paradise for investment and business. Our two economies are mutually complementary and there exist huge potentials and a bright future for bilateral economic and trade cooperation. At the same time, it is sincerely hoped that foreign investors could have a better investment environment in PNG in the days to come. This will score points for PNG to attract more investment from China.

To conclude, I'd like to take this opportunity to once again congratulate the Chinese Medical Team on its start of operation in Port Moresby and wish all the doctors in the Team a pleasant stay here in PNG.