Good evening.

It is a great delight to join you tonight at Wuppertal’s Historical City Hall. The music we are about to enjoy represents far more than artistic performance. It embodies the sincere friendship and spiritual resonance between the people of China and Germany across distance and time.

The year 2026 carries special significance. It marks the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, as well as the 54th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Germany. More than a century of exploration and over five decades of steady cooperation endow the 2nd Hemiola International Music Festival with extraordinary historical meaning.

Wuppertal, hometown of Friedrich Engels, holds a unique spiritual connection linking China and Germany. I visited Engels’ House ahead of this event. His profound ideas have greatly inspired China’s modernization journey. Today, on his native soil, melodies from the East and the West blend beautifully together. It is a heartfelt tribute to this great thinker and a vivid continuation of the lasting spiritual bond between our two countries.

For more than half a century, China and Germany have maintained in-depth cooperation in economy, trade, regional and culture exchanges,  bringing our peoples closer than ever before. As a universal language beyond translation, music serves as the softest yet most powerful bridge for civilization exchange and mutual understanding. It allows people from diverse cultural backgrounds to appreciate, respect and learn from one another. Civilizations thrive through communication and prosper through mutual enrichment. The long-term development of China-Germany relations is precisely nourished by such sincere cultural resonance.

Tonight, eleven young Chinese musicians will perform here in Engels’ hometown together with the Cologne Symphony Orchestra. With members from Germany, Türkiye and other countries, the orchestra symbolizes wonderful cross-cultural collaboration. Through elegant music and professional artistry, these young artists present vivid stories of China’s modernization and compose new chapters for China-Germany cultural friendship. May you always keep your pure passion for music, and may tonight’s collaborative performance become a precious memory in your artistic career.

The successful holding of this festival owes much to the mutual appreciation and joint efforts of young artists from all countries, as well as the careful organization and strong support from Chinese and German institutions and friends from all sectors. I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to everyone involved onstage and backstage. Thanks to your dedication and hard work, we have built an elegant international platform for young artists, allowing youthful dreams of music to shine brightly.

I sincerely hope that the Hemiola International Music Festival will continue to thrive and serve as a landmark platform for people-to-people exchanges between China and Germany.

Wish tonight’s concert a great success!

Thank you.