On the morning of February 25th, the 30th anniversary ceremony for the Company’s founding was solemnly held in the Great Hall of the People. Cao Gangchuan, the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the vice chairman of the Military Commission of the Central Committee, the committee member of the State Council and the Secretary of Defense attended the ceremony. Leaders and guests were seat on the platform, including Zhang Junjiu, the CPPCC committee member, the former first Secretary and vice chairman of the Secretariat, ACFTU, Zhang Guobao, the deputy director of NDRC and the director general of the National Energy Administration, Zhang Guoqing, the general manager of China North Industries Group Corporation (CNGC) and the chairman of Northern Heavy Industries Group (NHI), Xu Bin, the general manager and Party Secretary of China South Industries Group Corporation (CSGC) and the deputy chairman of NHI, Niu Hongguang, the Deputy Minister of PLA General Armament Department, Li Jinjun, the Deputy Minister of International Department of the Central Committee of CPC, Li Jinzhang, the Deputy Foreign Minister, Jiang Yaoping, the Deputy Minister of the Department of Commerce, Ma Zhigeng, member of NPC Financial and Fiscal Committee, Wang Yiren, deputy director general of National Defense Science & Technology Industrial Bureau, Xiao Gang, chairman of Bank of China and Li Ruogu, chairman and president of Export-Import Bank of China.

People who attended the ceremony also included leaders and representatives from related departments in Central State organs, PLA-related headquarters and armies, PAP headquarters, military academies, relevant local governments in Beijing and Shantou, CNGC, CSGC, related associations, chambers of commerce, companies of military trade, enterprises in the armament industry, financial institutions long cooperating with the Company, institutes of higher education and industrial and mining enterprises. More than 1000 people from NHI including leaders, staff and the retired participated in the ceremony. The ceremony was presided by Li Xun, the Party Secretary of NHI.

Zhi Yulin, the vice president of the Company, first read out the dedications and congratulatory letters for the 30th anniversary from the Party, national and military leaders such as Wu Bangguo, Zhang Dejiang, Guo Boxiong, Wu Yi, Cao Gangchuan, Zou Jiahua, Chen Bingde, Li Jinai and Chang Wanquan. These dedications and letters highly evaluated the achievements that the Company had achieved for 30 years, representing the deep concern and support from the Party, the country and the army for the Company’s development and expressing the eager expectations for consistent efforts and greater success.

Zhao Gang, the president of the Company, delivered a report themed as “carrying forward missions and creating new glory”. The report fully summarized the achievements and inspirations over thirty years, expressed heart-felt gratitude to the Central Committee of the Party, the State Council, the Military Commission of the Central Committee, financial institutions, partners, enterprises in the armament industries and associated agencies for their support, extended great respect to a wide range of leaders, staff and the retired who made contributions to the founding, development and expansion of the Company and urged the whole leaders and staff to bear in mind the missions and work even harder and more enthusiastically based on the new start from the 30th anniversary for greater success.

At the ceremony, Jiang Yaoping, Wang Yiren, Song Kefeng, Guan Youfei, Li Ruogu and Li Zhaozhi, the general manager of Jinxi Industrial Group Corporation delivered speeches respectively, fully acknowledging and highly evaluating the achievements and contributions of the Company over thirty years towards the construction of national defense and the economic and social development. They all encouraged NHI to achieve more success based on the new start and in full enthusiasm.

Jiang Yaoping pointed out that over thirty years, NHI had made outstanding achievements in foreign trade under the motivation of the reform and opening-up policies, obtained positive effects with respect to “external exploration” and developed a lot of oversea petroleum and important minerals, playing an important role in safeguarding the national economy and security; it had undertook many oversea projects, created a number of high-quality projects and driven the export of a large number of equipment suites and technologies, becoming one of the largest international contractors. At the same time, NHI abided by the laws and regulations of export control in the country, winning wide acknowledgement in all respects. Hopefully NHI could explore more in a courageous manner under such new situations, actively participate in the international trade cooperation in wider arenas and at higher levels and make greater contributions to the national economy and the defense construction.

Wang Yiren indicated that NHI had made glorious achievements over thirty years. First of all, it became powerful in the military trade, claiming to be the pioneer in the national career of military trade. Second, it set up brands, representing a famous enterprise with great strength that could not be neglected in the global military market. Third, it cultivated a team. Under strenuous environment across the international market, people in NHI showed strong sense of missions and good morale, forming a vigorous team that could really fight. Fourth, it had expanded its strength. Backed up the spillover effect in the military trade, it stood out as a new force in areas such as the development of energy resources and international economic cooperation, initiating a unique way in which the military and the civilian could be developed in a mixed way. It showed steady and rapid growth in the economic aggregates and profits. It was hoped that NHI could further liberate thoughts and forge ahead to make new contributions to the modern construction of the national defense and the national economy.

Zhang Guoqing delivered important speeches at the ceremony on behalf of 500,000 staff in the two Groups and Systems. He pointed out that over thirty years, NHI had always regarded the national interests as the first priority, resolutely complied with and served the national diplomatic strategies, based itself on and relied on the armament industry and actively carried out international operations with the military trade as the core. It not only became an important power in the international military market, but also made one and another breakthrough in developing oversea oil resources and precious metal and mineral resources, contracting international projects and exploring international markets of civilian goods by fully exercising the spillover effect in the military trade. Because of this, it had done much explorative and initiative work for the national strategy of “external exploration”, led a path with northern industrial characteristics for development and made positive contributions to ensure the modern construction of our military equipment and the steady, healthy and coordinated development of the armament industry, to guarantee the security of national resources, to safeguard core interests of the country and to promote the implementation of the national diplomatic strategies. Zhang Guoqing hoped that NHI could start from the new point, hold great ambitions, stick to core missions of the military trade, continue the realistic way, keep a low profile, keep the idea of open development, proceed with the emphasis on both products and the market, strengthen the construction of core capabilities in the military trade, further exercise the spillover effect, and enhance the mixed development of businesses such as military trade, petroleum, minerals, international projects and specialization of civilian goods. While further consolidating and developing its leading position in the military trade industry, NHI was expected to be built with great efforts to become one of the main suppliers of Co resources and Pt resources as well as an important supplier of copper resources. NHI should strive its way to develop into a globally state-of-the-art group in defense affairs and an important industrial base in heavy equipment and specialized chemistry, and contribute more to the construction of the defense technology and military equipment, the economic and social development as well as growing national interests.

The ceremony concluded in warm applause. A reception dinner was later provided in the central hall on the first floor of the Great Hall of the People, in which about 400 Chinese and foreign guests took part. The president Zhao Gang delivered the welcome speech and the diplomatic envoy from Pakistan embassy in China made a speech to congratulate the 30th anniversary. The dinner was presided by the vice president Zhi Yulin.

Before the ceremony, leaders, distinguished guests and staff of the Company appreciated together the video commemorating the 30th anniversary. The video gave a panorama to the Company’s striving experience of leapfrog development over thirty years and the achievements in the exploration of military trade and oversea resources, the foreign economic cooperation, the specialized operation of civilian goods and the development of corporate culture, fully displaying the brave and tenacious spirits of people in NHI.

In order to celebrate the 30th anniversary, the Company had successfully hosted the summit forum “military trade in China over thirty years”, held exhibitions of picture review, collected and published commemoration works. After the successful ceremony, the Company sponsored large-scale music and dancing parties in Beijing Exhibition Center Theater on the eves of February 26th and 27th, pushing the celebratory event to a new high.

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary, related national departments and commissions, high-ranking military officers, local governments, financial institutions, partners, associated agencies and embassies in China and other parties expressed their congratulations and nice wishes to the 30th anniversary in varied ways.