Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear media friends,

Good afternoon!

December 11, 2008 marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It's the great trust rendered by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council and a grand event in Guangxi people's life as well as a vivid example of the adherence to and improvement of the CPC's ethnic policies and the ethnic solidarity. I'd like to extend my gratitude to the State Council Information Office for organizing the press conference celebrating the 50th founding anniversary of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and my thanks also go to media friends for your presence at the press conference and for your long-term interests in and support on the reform and development of Guangxi.

The past 50 years has witnessed tremendous changes in Guangxi. With the care of several generations of the leadership of the Central Government and with the support of CPC's ethnic policies, Guangxi has achieved remarkable progress in economy and society. Significant changes have taken place from economic foundation to the superstructure, from productivity to production relations, from economic development to the development of politics, culture, society and party building, from urban areas to rural areas. The past 50 years has turned the poor and remote Guangxi into an open and rapidly developing Guangxi.

Currently, at the new historic height, Guangxi is embracing rare opportunities with a bright future ahead. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council have attached great importance to the reform and development of Guangxi. In particular, since the beginning of this year, General Secretary Hu Jintao, Chairman Wu Bangguo, Premier Wen Jiabao and other leaders from the Central Government have visited Guangxi and made instructions on the development of Guangxi. We hope, taking the opportunity of the 50th anniversary, continue to mobilize our people to work hard, consolidate and develop ethnic solidarity and progress and accelerate reform, opening up as well as modernization drive. In this way, we hope to develop Guangxi into the new highland in the international and regional economic cooperation as well as the new growth pole in the coastal areas of China. We aim to continually develop Guangxi in a scientific, harmonious and leapfrogging way so that we can display the success of the scientific outlook on development, CPC's ethnic polices as well as the system of regional ethnic autonomy with our achievements.

Now, let's give the floor to Governor Ma Biao.