Ni Sa Bula and good morning! Today, I am greatly honored to be invited as the Chief Guest for the Rural Development Symposium, jointly sponsored by the government of Fiji and CIRDAP. The Symposium is the first of its kind for Fiji which showcases the importance that Fijian government attached to rural development. We note that under the leadership of the Fijian government, Fiji maintained economic growth for eight consecutive years, and has made great achievements in economic and social development in rural areas. The "5 Year & 20 year National Development Plan" formulated by the Fijian government consists of two prongs, which are "Inclusive Social-Economic Development" and "Transforming Strategic Thrusts". It aims to eradicate poverty, improve rural infrastructure such as electricity and water supply, roads and communication, provide better educational and medical services to rural people and foster new industries.

Ladies and gentlemen, today I was advised to say something about China's rural development and its experience. Chinese government attaches great importance to three rural issues, namely agriculture, rural areas and farmers. President Xi Jinping once pointed out that "If China wants to be strong, agriculture must be strong. If China wants to be beautiful, the countryside must be beautiful. If China wants to get rich, the farmers must get rich." The report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China put forward the "the strategy of rural revitalization" and pointed out that "Issues relating to agriculture, rural areas, and rural people are fundamental to China as they directly concern our country's stability and our people's wellbeing. Addressing these issues should have a central place on the work agenda of the Party." The recent Chinese government reform restructured the relevant ministries and established the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, which will be responsible for coordinating rural development.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up policy. Since the implementation of the policy in 1978, China has accelerated the pace of agricultural reforms and made remarkable achievements. In my view, the main experience and achievements of China's rural development are, but not limited to, as follows:

First, China attaches great importance to food security and promote agriculture through science and technology. As your may know, China is a large agricultural country with a long history of farming and a large rural population. 45% of the 1.3 billion Chinese people live in rural areas. The Chinese government attaches great importance to food security, allocating significant proportion of arable land for grain growing. The report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that "We must ensure China's food security so that we always have control over our own food supply." Meanwhile, China develops agriculture through science and technology. We improve crop varieties and support agricultural mechanization and modernization. Currently, China ranks first in the world in terms of the production volume of cereals, cotton, fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry, eggs and fishery products. The mechanization level for major crops has exceeded 65%. Thus, China has succeeded in producing one fourth of world's grain and feeding one fifth of world's population with less than 10 percent of world arable land, which is a great contribution on food security to the world.

Second, China rapidly develops rural infrastructure. There is a saying in China that "If you want to be rich, fix the road first." The Chinese government set forth the target of "Road Access for every Village". Up to now, the total length of rural roads in China has reached 3.96 million kilometers. 99.2% of the townships and 98.3% of the villages can be reached by asphalt or cement roads, and 99.1% of the townships and 96.5% of the villages have bus service. Early in the late 1990s, 97% of Chinese population has access to electricity. In 2015, China achieved 100% coverage of electricity supply.

Third, China supports rural industry. Since the reform and opening up, the Chinese government has encouraged the development of rural enterprises. Agricultural product processing industry, agriculture tourism, and rural e-commerce inject new impetus into rural economy. The primary, secondary and tertiary industries in rural areas have been deeply integrated. In 2016, the output value ratio of agricultural product processing industry to agriculture reached 2.2:1, the agricultural products trading value on e-commerce transactions reached about 70 billion Fijian Dollars, and the revenue from agriculture tourism reached 18 billion Fijian Dollars. The development of agriculture and rural areas substantially increased farmers' income and improved their living standards.

Ladies and gentlemen, Under the framework of South-South cooperation and based on the actual needs of Fiji, China has provided Fijian with various assistance on rural development in recent years, covering agriculture, roads, bridges, energy, health, education, climate change, disaster relief and human resources training and etc. China's assistance has made positive contributions to Fijian people's wellbeing and the social and economic development in rural areas.

In agriculture sector, China has implemented Juncao Mushroom Technology Demonstration Center project. This project was initially recommended by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Honorable Prime Minister Bainimarama in 2009. The project helps start the history of mushroom production in Fiji and supply feed to livestock husbandry in the dry season. At present, the project is undergoing the second phase of technical cooperation. More than 900 Fijian farmers will attend the training courses. This project is expected to assist Fiji to develop Juncao industry and raise Fijian farmers' income. During the 34th FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific (APRC) which was held in Nadi, the Juncao project attended the agriculture exhibition and was highly praised by His Excellency President Konrote and Director General of FAO, Mr. Graziano da Silva.

The Chinese government knows very well the importance of food security and helped implement the Agricultural Development & Technical Cooperation Project in Vanua Levu. This project aimed to help Fiji revitalize the rice industry and achieve self-sufficiency in rice production. So far, the project has achieved the rice yield of 6.31 tons per hectare which is more than twice the local average. In addition, China also donated more than 300 units of equipment to promote Fiji's agriculture mechanization.

Fiji faces the challenge of imbalance of regional development. The 70 kilometer Nabouwalu Highway project assisted by China helped the development of Vanua Levu. It shortened the travelling time between Nabouwalu jetty and Labasa from previous 7 hours to present 2 hours. The Somosomo Hydropower Station on Taveuni Island is the first power station on this island and provides low-cost and clean energy to the local community.

Talented persons are the key to rural development. Chinese President Xi said that "China should train professional rural service personnel who have a good knowledge of agriculture, love our rural areas, and care about rural people." Fiji's rural development is also in need of professionals. Until now, China has invited more than 1,000 Fijian officials and experts to participate in seminars and training courses held in China, to share China's development experience.

Ladies and gentlemen, China is a steadfast and reliable development partner of Fiji. China's assistance to Fiji has set a good example of mutual support between developing countries under the framework of south-south cooperation. Rural development will continue to be at the centre for our bilateral cooperation in the future. China is willing to better coordinate the "Belt and Road" initiative with Fiji's national development strategy and help Fiji promote rural development and achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Finally, I wish the symposium a success and achieve expected effect.

Thank you and Vinaka!