Chinese Embassy in Senegal celebrates 60th National Day

The Chinese Embassy in Senegal held a reception on Tuesday to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Chinese Ambassador Lu Shaye told the distinguished guests that China has achieved a great success in turning an impoverished country into a prosperous one over the six decades.

The reception was attended by Senegalese government officials, representatives of various diplomatic missions and Chinese compatriots.

The Chinese ambassador said China has a long history of over 5,000 years, but it is in the past 60 years that the nation has accomplished a miracle in its modernization drive.

"Sixty years ago, China was still a semi-colonial state, semi-feudal, extremely poor and weak. Today, she has become an independent socialist country, prosperous and powerful," the ambassador said.

"The per capita income jumped from 35 U. S. dollars in 1949 to 3,266 dollars in 2008, a multiplication of 93 times," the diplomat said, adding China today possesses artificial satellites, super computers and the spacecraft which took the first Chinese into orbit in recent years.

China, which was seen as "the sick man" in East Asia before 1949, successfully hosted the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, in which Chinese athletes won 51 gold medals, the ambassador said.

"The key to success for China lies in the leadership of the Communist Party of China and its socialist model based on the realities in the country," the Chinese ambassador said.

Senegalese Education Minister Kalidou Diallo, who was present at the reception, said China is the best example for developing countries because she came from nowhere to become an economic power house in the world.

A Chinese troupe of artists which is touring Senegal gave a performance to the guests celebrating China's National Day, which falls on Oct. 1.

Source:Xinhua