Your Excellency Mr. Du Jiahao, Secretary of Hunan Provincial Committee of the CPC, Dear colleagues from 10+3 countries and ASEAN Secretariat, Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends,

尊敬的湖南省委书记杜家毫先生，东盟与中日韩三国、东盟秘书处的同事们，尊敬的各位来宾，女士们，先生们，朋友们，

Good morning!

大家上午好！

It's my great pleasure to join you in Changsha, a Cultural City of East Asia, for the 15th East Asia Forum. On behalf of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, I warmly welcome all colleagues and friends from East Asian countries. I would also like to thank China Foreign Affairs University and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade for your good job in putting this Forum together.

很高兴与各位同事相聚在“东亚文化之都”湖南长沙，共同出席第15届东亚论坛。我谨代表中国外交部，对来自东亚国家的同事和朋友表示热烈欢迎！感谢外交学院和中国贸促会对论坛相关筹备工作的大力投入。

Hunan is a cradle of the Chinese culture. It's famous for its rich cultural heritage and talented people. The ancient Chu Kingdom, of which Hunan was a part, had a reputation for nurturing top-level Chinese scholars. Today, Hunan is known for its broad vision and pioneering spirit. It has played a leading role in the rise of Central China and been an important window for cooperation between China and other East Asian countries. I wish to thank Hunan and Changsha for their hard work for this Forum.

湖南是华夏文明发源地之一，钟灵毓秀，人文荟萃，底蕴深厚，可谓“惟楚有材，于斯为盛”。现在，湖南又以“心忧天下、敢为人先”的精神，在中国中部崛起中发挥着突出作用，成为中国与东亚国家开展合作的重要窗口。在此，我要特别感谢湖南省、长沙市为本届论坛的筹办工作付出的辛勤努力和作出的精心安排。