Building bridges and riding the waves

Here is the full text of the keynote address delivered on Tuesday by Premier Li Keqiang at the opening ceremony of the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation Between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries in Macao

It gives me great pleasure to meet you in the beautiful city of Macao and attend the opening ceremony of the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation Between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries. On behalf of the Chinese government, let me extend warm congratulations on the opening of the conference and sincerely welcome all guests coming from afar. I would also like to pay high tribute to all those who have long been committed to friendship and cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

As is known to visitors of this city, bridges are the backbone for Macao. They are vital to economic development as well as people's work and life. Macao used to be the proud home of Asia's longest bridge, the Ponte de Amizade (Bridge of Friendship) which was completed in 1994. Now, together with Hong Kong and Zhuhai, Macao has just set a new record of the longest cross-sea bridge in the world. The bridge linking the three cities extends over an unprecedented 55 kilometers.