Your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen.

As the China-Denmark Tourism Year 2017 comes to an end, the events throughout the year stand as a testimony to the strong relations between China and Denmark.

We have worked closely together to show our citizens, and the world, what our two countries have to offer in terms of culture, nature and lifestyle.

China and Denmark have a long history of co-operation. Dating back to the 17th century, when trading ships from Denmark came to Guangzhou [: Guang djoe] and commercial ties were forged. Since then, the relation between our two countries has only grown stronger, expanding these ties from the commercial area to include culture and education.

In 1979, my mother, Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II, was among the first western monarchs to visit the People’s Republic. My first visit to China in 1986 took me to remote places as well as large cities, like Urumqi and its hinterland. I have travelled to China on several occasions since then, most recently in September this year, when I visited Beijing and Guangzhou [: Guang djoe].

During this visit the important Chinese-Danish university SDC was inaugurated, and I had the pleasure to run with Chinese university students on the Great Wall. A fantastic experience!

I hope to return to China again soon, and I definitely look forward to returning to China in 2022, when - for the first time - Beijing will be hosting The Winter Olympics.

The China-Denmark Tourism Year has created a great platform for meetings and exchanges at all levels of society.

This also applies for political discussions. For businesses closing deals and for the opportunity to expand into new markets. And of course for our two populations visiting each other.

But  tourism is so much more. It is through travelling that we encounter new people and cultures. It is while travelling that we exchange thoughts and ideas with strangers. And it is through travelling that we get a better understanding of each other – of our differences and also of our similarities.

As a token of our two countries’ great bilateral relations, President Xi Jinping [: Shi Djin-ping] has granted the lease of two pandas to Copenhagen Zoo. The Danish prime minister visited the two pandas in their current home in Chengdu [: Tjøng du] in May this year.

The groundbreaking ceremony of the extraordinary new panda facilities in Copenhagen Zoo took place a few weeks ago. Now, we all look forward to welcoming the panda couple to Copenhagen – hopefully next year.

We promise to take good care of them!

The new partnerships established during the Tourism Year is a strong indication of the continuous positive development in the relationship between China and Denmark.

The venue of today’s celebration – this magnificent building, The Royal Theatre’s Old Stage – made me think of H.C. Andersen. Because in his youth, H.C. Andersen trialled as a dancer, and as an actor. Luckily for us, the dancing and acting didn’t go well for our national poet, and instead he turned to writing.

The results were the wonderful fairytales that even today children in both Denmark and China love and know by heart.

Therefore, I find it appropriate to finish my speech with an apt quote from the autobiography of H.C. Andersen:

“To move, to breathe, to fly, to float,
to gain all while you give,
to roam the roads of lands remote,
to travel is to live.”

I wish you all a great closing ceremony! Thank you!