H.E. Gjorge Ivanov, Former President of North Macedonia, 

H.E. Ljupcho Dimovski, Deputy Prime Minister of the Government,

H.E. Liu Hongcai, Vice President of Chinese Association for International Understanding, 

Excellencies, Distinguished guests, professors, and young leaders,

Good morning! I feel so priviliged to welcome you all in Skopje for Dialogue for Unity and Peace 2026. It's been the second year for the embassy to work with the International Center Alliance of Civilizations (ICAC), a trustworthy, inspirational and professional partner without which we won't be able to gather here today. My thanks also goes to Beijing Club for International Dialogue for helping us to invite Chinese speakers to Skopje.

Dear Friends,

We are here to discuss peace and unity in the following two days, a theme could not be more relevant at a time when our world is facing growing division, confrontation, and uncertainty.

Peace and unity are aspirations that transcend national borders. Peace is like air and sunshine. We benefit from it every day, often without noticing it, yet we cannot live without it. Unity is like a torch, illuminating the path forward and guiding us through challenges. And dialogue helps to bring people together, bridge differences, and find common ground.

Not long ago, the world celebrated the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations. Its message is loud and clear - let's join hands to seek and make peace.

China has always been a strong advocate for peace, development, and cooperation. It's embedded in the DNA of the Chinese nation, written in its constitution and testified by its actions.

First, Peace as a Value.

Chinese civilization has long embraced the principles of peace and harmony. In history, although China was one of the world’s major powers for centuries, it has never colonized any other country or seized any land by force. When Zheng He, Chinese Columbus sailed to the west, he traded fairly spices, jewelries with silk, tea, and porcelain. He brought good will for peace and friendship instead of imposing with guns and powders.

Since the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949, China has never started a war or conflict, nor has it encroached upon an inch of foreign territory. China is the only country that has written its commitment to peaceful development into its Constitution, and the only nuclear state that has pledged no first use of nuclear weapons.

In the face of global challenges and crises, no country can succeed alone. President Xi has proposed building a community with a shared future for humanity. Through the Belt and Road Initiative and a series of global initiatives, China seeks for solutions to the deficits in peace, security, development, and governance, and to promote harmony, stability, and win-win cooperation around the world.

Second, Development as a Right.

Peace can never be secured without development. Harmony without uniformity also implies that no country should regard its own development model as only model or panacea, still less impose it on others.

In a few days, we will celebrate the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. China’s development path is the result of over a century of relentless efforts by the CPC and the Chinese people. 

Looking back on its 105-year journey, the Party has led the Chinese people to pursue self-reliance and development, successfully finding the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. In doing so, China has achieved rapid economic growth while managed to maintain long-term social stability.

China’s success offers developing countries more options for achieving modernization while preserving their independence and pursuing development according to their own national conditions.

As more developing countries advance toward modernization with greater confidence and solidarity, the Global South—which represents about 85% of the world’s population—will speak with a stronger voice. This will contribute to a more balanced international order and inject greater stability into world peace and development.

Third, Shared Prosperity as a Goal.

Unity cannot be achieved if countries in a better position only think about its own interest. By sharing opportunities, helping others to catch up, the cake of market grows bigger and thus everybody gets a larger share in the end.

China-Africa cooperation provides a vivid example. Over the past two decades, China has helped Africa build and upgrade nearly 100,000 kilometers of roads and more than 10,000 kilometers of railways, constructed over 80 large-scale power facilities, more than 130 medical facilities, 45 stadiums, and over 170 schools, while training more than 160,000 professionals across various sectors.

Since 2017, China’s imports from Africa have grown by an average of 20 percent annually, creating nearly 400,000 jobs each year. On May 1 this year, China exempted tariff for all 53 African countries having diplomatic relations with China.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is another case in point. The initiative has joined by more than three-quarters of the world’s countries and over 40 international organizations, making it the largest international cooperation platform in the world. Up to date, BRI has mobilized nearly one trillion US dollars in investment, launched more than 3,000 cooperation projects, created over 400,000 jobs, and helped lift nearly 40 million people out of poverty.

Dear friends, 

China will continue to uphold the values of harmony and cooperation, remain committed to peaceful development, and pursue unity based on equity. The principles I have just outlined are not abstract concepts. They are reflected in China’s cooperation with partners around the world, including the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Over the past 14 years, Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (China-CEEC Cooperation) has delivered fruitful results. It has promoted the coordinated development of bilateral relations, regional cooperation, and China-Europe relations, and has become an integral platform for cross-regional cooperation.

Just last month, the Seventh China-CEEC Local Leaders’ Meeting was successfully held in Shandong Province. We are honored to have invited Deputy PM Stoilković of North Macedonia to visit China and held productive meetings with State Councilor Shen, which definitely will bring more tangible results in the future.

As China has embarked the journey to implement the 15th Five-Year Plan, we stand ready to pool synergy with Central and Eastern European countries to uphold openness and cooperation, deepen connectivity, promote sustainable and innovative development, and enhance people-to-people exchanges and mutual learning.

Together, we can deliver greater benefits to our peoples and contribute more to global solidarity, cooperation, and peace.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As Macedonians like to say, “Добриот совет злато вреди.” — Good advice is worth more than gold.

I look forward to listening to your valuable insights in the following sessions. Let us work together to turn dialogue into understanding, ignite more cooperation and inject more viality to lasting peace and shared prosperity.

Thank you.