The Chinese embassy in the United Kingdom hosted a reception on Thursday evening to celebrate the 92nd anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army of China, which falls on Aug 1.
More than 300 guest including the Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming, Major General Su Guanghui, defense attaché of the Embassy, and Doctor Roger Hutton, director of international security at the Ministry of Defence in the UK, attended the reception.
In a keynote speech, Liu acknowledged the PLA's contribution to the country and to the world over the past 92 years, and stressed that the PLA will continue to stay committed to three goals.
These goals are a commitment to "the path of peaceful development", "safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests", and "upholding world peace and stability".
Since 1990, the PLA has sent more than 40,000 military personnel to 24 United Nations peacekeeping missions. China is at present the largest contributor of peacekeepers among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and the world's second largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping budget.
"Facts have shown that China's development is conducive to world peace. As China's military grows stronger, it is bound to make greater contribution to world peace," Liu said.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. It is also the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relationship between China and the UK at the level of chargé d'affaires.
Representing the UK government, Hutton shared congratulations and emphasized the importance of the military-to-military relationship between China and the UK.
"Our two nations have shared benefits – we both want to see a world which is stable and prosperous. We both want to see a world where we can work together to tackle global challenges including international security and environment changes," Hutton said.
Liu said amid rising protectionism and unilateralism around the world, China and the UK have a growing consensus on multilateralism, free trade and the rule-based international trade system.
"We should see each other as an opportunity rather than a threat," said Liu, "Our two countries and militaries should work together for political settlement of regional and international hotspot issues. By doing so, we could make our contribution to building a community with a shared future for mankind and a world that enjoys peace, stability, development and prosperity."
