On the occasion of his state visit to Peru and attendance at the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, President Xi Jinping published a signed article titled "Sailing the Friendship Vessel Between China and Peru Far and Wide" in the Peruvian newspaper El Peruano.

让中秘友好之船扬帆远航
中华人民共和国主席 习近平

In the early summer of the Southern Hemisphere, brimming with vitality and hope, I am about to pay a state visit to the Republic of Peru and attend the 31st Informal Meeting of APEC Leaders at the invitation of President Boluarte. This will be my second visit to Peru as the President of the People's Republic of China, a "neighbor" across the Pacific for China.

Here nurtured ancient civilizations such as Caral, Chavín, Chimú, and Inca. The people here affectionately call the Chinese "compatriots," and the Congress has passed a resolution designating a certain day each year as "Peru-China Friendship Day." Chinese restaurants here are called "Comer." Every time I visit Peru, I deeply feel the friendly sentiments of the Peruvian people towards the Chinese people.

This friendship is rooted in the wisdom of ancient civilizations. The Chinese civilization is the only uninterrupted and continuous civilization in the world, while the maritime civilization represented by the Caral civilization and the land civilization represented by the Inca civilization highlight the long history and rich diversity of Peruvian civilization. Chinese and foreign archaeologists believe that Chinese civilization and American civilizations are actually the products of descendants of the same ancestor in different eras and locations. The wisdom of civilizations brings us similar ideas and a connected heart.

This friendship is passed down from the distant and shining history. Many people have told me that the peoples of China and Peru feel "affectionate at first sight" when they see each other, and feel "familiar" when they see each other's cultural relics. For example, the Incan gold mask unearthed in Peru is strikingly similar to the gold mask from the Sanxingdui site in China. In the ancient city of Machu Picchu, there is a "stone to bind the sun" on the altar, where the Incas determined the seasons and compiled the calendar through changes in the sun's shadow, which is ingeniously similar to the ancient Chinese sundial.

This friendship has deepened through mutually beneficial cooperation. Peru was one of the first Latin American countries to establish diplomatic relations with New China. Over the past half-century, Sino-Peruvian relations have consistently moved forward steadily, especially since the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership, bilateral relations have continued to deepen, yielding substantial practical cooperation results that benefit both peoples. During the COVID-19 pandemic, China dispatched medical expert teams to Peru and provided vaccines and anti-epidemic supplies to the best of its ability, demonstrating through actions that China is a reliable friend for Peru in critical moments.

An ancient Chinese saying goes, "In governing a country, there are constants, but the welfare of the people is the foundation." A Peruvian proverb states, "The voice of the people is the voice of God." Improving the lives of our people is a common pursuit for both our countries. We must promote the traditional friendship between China and Peru, expand and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields, and infuse it with new connotations of the era.

During this visit, I will join President Boluarte in a video ceremony to inaugurate the Qiankai Port. Qiankai Port is a key project under the Belt and Road Initiative jointly built by China and Peru, and it is also the first smart port in South America. The first phase of Qiankai Port can shorten the sea transportation time from Peru to China to days, reduce logistics costs by over %, bring in annual revenue of $ billion to Peru, and create thousands of direct job opportunities.

We must take on the responsibility of promoting cultural exchange in this era, strengthening cooperation in areas such as culture and arts, education, scientific research, tourism, youth, cultural heritage protection, and archaeology. We should implement more measures to facilitate the exchange of people between our two countries, further solidifying the social and public support base for the development of bilateral relations.

Following the successful hosting of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in 2016 and 2018, Peru will host this important event for the third time. The themes of the meetings have evolved from "New Commitments for Asia-Pacific Development," to "High-Quality Growth and Human Development," and now to this year's "Empowerment, Inclusion, and Growth," fully demonstrating Peru's strong determination to promote the construction of an open Asia-Pacific economy and to foster global economic growth. This has effectively conveyed the "Lima Voice" of openness, inclusiveness, and win-win cooperation.

Currently, the acceleration of the world's century-long transformation places humanity once again at a historical crossroads. The colossal geoglyphs of the Nazca civilization in Peru, while bewildering to those within, can only be fully comprehended by those who stand high. China has a saying, "Not fearing the floating clouds to obscure the view, naturally because one is at the highest level." The Chinese side is willing to work together with the Peruvian side, adhering to the principle of standing tall and looking far, grasping the world's major trends from a long-term historical perspective, practicing true multilateralism, promoting an equal and orderly multipolar world and an inclusive and beneficial economic globalization. Together, we will implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative, and join hands in building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Standing at a new historical starting point, China is willing to join hands with the friends of Peru, working towards the same goals, overcoming mountains and seas, and steering the ship of China-Peru friendship towards an even brighter future!