Ｄｅｌｅｇａｔｉｏｎ ｏｆ Ｄｏｍｉｎｉｃａ－Ｃｈｉｎａ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ Ａｓｓｏｃｉａｔｉｏｎ Ｖｉｓｉｔｓ Ｃｈｉｎａ

At the invitation of the CPAFFC， a delegation of the Dominica-China Friendship Association (DCFA) headed by its adviser Mr. Frank Canelo Valdez paid a goodwill visit to Beijing， Xi’an and Shanghai from August 5 to 13， 2004.

When meeting the delegation， leaders concerned from Beijing， Shanghai， Shaanxi and the Foreign Ministry recalled the history of friendly exchanges between the two countries and the increasing exchanges and cooperation in all fields at present. They said， many Chinese businessmen have great interest in investing in Dominica. But as the two countries have not yet established diplomatic relations， the cooperation in trade and investment is limited. The Chinese leaders expressed congratulations to Mr. Leonel Fernandez on being elected Dominican president， and said that Fernandez is an old friend of the Chinese people and that during his first term of presidency China set up an office for trade development in Dominica， and hoped that in his second term of presidency， President Fernandez would push for normalization of the relations between the two countries.

Mr. Valdez said， in recent years China has made outstanding achievements， and many countries in the world are now talking about the China miracle and its effective mode of development. Farsighted statesmen should establish diplomatic relations with China as early as possible and carry out cooperation so as to benefit the people. He hoped that after taking office the new government would make efforts to normalize the relations between the two countries.

During its stay in China， the delegation had a working meeting with the CPAFFC. Valdez said， the DCFA was founded in 2000， and its members include former government officials， members of the Parliament， businessmen and lawyers. After several years’ development， the Association has increased its members to about 200 and set up branches in 4 provinces and cities.

The nine-day visit left a good and deep impression on all the members of the delegation. They admired China’s stable political situation， fast-developing economy and marked improvement of people’s life， which in turn further strengthened their resolve to promote the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. They said that they would tell the Dominican people of various circles about the real China they had seen and do their best to push an all-round development of bilateral relations.