KIEV, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Ukraine hosted a ceremonial reception on Thursday to mark the 69th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
The event was attended by about 400 high-ranking guests, including Ukrainian government and parliament officials, foreign diplomats, as well as Chinese and Ukrainian business people.
In his welcoming speech, Chinese Ambassador to Ukraine Du Wei highlighted the achievements China has made in the past 69 years, saying that the success is the result of hard work of the Chinese people.
Five years ago, China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, and now the overall trade volume between China and the countries along the Belt and Road has exceeded 6 trillion U.S. dollars, Du said.
China's direct investment in the Belt and Road countries amounted to about 70 billion dollars, he added.
"We will continue reform and opening-up policy. China strongly supports globalization and free trade, and opposes protectionism and unilateral policies," Du said.
Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Stepan Kubiv conveyed congratulations and best wishes to China from Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, saying that China's achievements have provided great opportunities to other countries.
Kubiv said that the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative has become an "intercontinental project of the 21st century," which serves the interests of its participants, including Ukraine.
He also said that Ukraine hopes to benefit from the China International Import Expo (CIIE), which will be held in Shanghai in November.
"This exhibition will allow Ukrainian businesses, Ukrainian private and state enterprises to present the latest competitive products and expand our sales markets in Asia," Kubiv said.
