Ｆｉｒｓｔ Ｃｈｉｎａ－Ｓｐａｉｎ Ｆｏｒｕｍ

The first China-Spain Forum was held in Beijing from December 18 to 19， 2003. President Hu Jintao expressed his congratulations on the successful convening of the Forum.

Opening Session of First China-Spain Forum

The theme of the first Forum was: 30 years of Sino-Spanish diplomatic ties from lack of understanding to cooperation for a common future---friendship and cooperation between China and Spain in the 21st century. The Forum was presided over by CPAFFC President Chen Haosu. At the opening session Hu Qili， chairman of the Forum’s Chinese Committee， and Juan Antonio Samaranch， chairman of the Forum’s Spanish Committee， gave key-note speeches. Zhang Yesui， Chinese vice foreign minister， and Ramon Gil Casares， Spanish secretary of state for foreign affairs， respectively on behalf of their governments， made speeches of congratulations.

In his speech at the opening session， CPAFFC President Chen Haosu said， thanks to the care given to the Forum by the governments and the ministries of foreign affairs of the two countries， many important government officials of the two countries participate in the Forum， thus the Forum has heavy official colour. This is a good thing， for it shows to the world that both governmental and nongovernmental friendly relations have developed between our two countries. The Forum has set up four sub-committees composed of the most influential well-known social figures from China and Spain， which endows the exchanges at the Forum with great vitality and will surely help promote Sino-Spanish bilateral cooperation.

In his speech， Chairman Hu Qili said， the formal convening of the first China-Spain Forum is a major event in the relations between the two countries and two peoples， reflecting the aspirations of the two governments and peoples for enhancing mutual understanding， strengthening exchanges and cooperation， safeguarding world peace and promoting common development so as to benefit the two peoples in the 21st century. Resulted from the positive policies pursued by the two governments since the establishment of diplomatic relations， particularly in recent years， the Forum has opened a new channel for further strengthening friendship and cooperation between the two countries and peoples in the future and built a new bridge of peace， friendship and cooperation linking Asia and Europe.

In his speech， Chairman Samaranch said， after a series of consultations between the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the CPAFFC， he was given the opportunity to sign the memorandum on the launching of the China-Spain Forum， and hence came the first meeting. The establishment of the mechanism of the Forum will greatly increase people-to-people exchanges between the two countries in scale and intensity， and bring benefits to both Spain and China in the political， economic， cultural and sports fields. He expressed the belief that this mechanism would be further strengthened in the near future and become an indispensable platform to solve all kinds of problems cropping up year after year.

In his speech of congratulations， Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui said， it is of far-reaching significance and a heavy responsibility for participants of the China-Spain Forum to get together in Beijing for the first time to discuss how to strengthen cooperation between the two countries. Zhang spoke highly of the development of Sino-Spanish relations in the past 30 years， and said， political mutual trust between the two countries has been continuously deepened， economic and trade cooperation has achieved remarkable results， exchanges between the two countries in the cultural， sports， scientific and technological fields have greatly developed， and consultations and cooperation between the two countries in international affairs have continued to strengthen. To increase international cooperation， adopt multilateralism， safeguard world peace and promote common development should be the common goal pursued by humankind. Both China and Spain have an unshirkable duty to realize this goal. China is ready to make joint efforts with Spain and grasp the opportunity to build a long-term stable Sino-European strategic partnership， and by further tapping potentialities push Sino-Spanish and Sino-European cooperative relations to a new level.

In his speech of congratulations， Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Ramon Gil Casares said， Spain has always devoted itself to the promotion of its relations with the People’s Republic of China. China has become the core of our Asian policy， as well as the core of the Asian-Pacific Plan initiated by Spain in 2000. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Spain-China diplomatic relations， and the starting year of a new period for nongovernmental organizations to play more active roles in expanding our interests in China. Now it is time for nongovernmental organizations to further enrich Spain-China relations， open up new fields and bring our relations closer. China plays the leading role in its own history and a key role in the international community. Spain does not want to be absent in Asia， particularly in China whose power and potentiality will become the symbol of the 21st century.

The Spanish high-ranking delegation led by J. A. Samaranch， chairman of the Forum’s Spanish Committee， R.G. Casares， secretary of state for foreign affairs， Francisco Utrera Mora， secretary-general for external trade at the State Secretariat for Trade， Luis Alberto de Cuenca y Prado， secretary of state for culture， Juan Antonio Gomez Angulo， secretary of state for sport， and Jose Petro Sebastian de Erice， Spanish ambassador to China， and Jiang Chengsong， member of the Environment and Resources Protection Committee of the Chinese National People’s Congress (NPC)， Zhang Yesui， vice foreign minister， Meng Xiaosi， vice cultural minister， Gao Hucheng， vice minister of commerce， Yu Zaiqing， deputy director of the General Administration of Sport， Li Binghua， vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (BOCOG)， He Zhengliang， adviser to the BOCOG， Yuan Tao， vice chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)， Qiu Xiaoqi， Chinese ambassador to Spain， among representatives of various circles， attended the opening session.

On the evening of that day， the CPAFFC and the Chinese Organizing Committee of the Forum held a reception in celebration of the convening of the first Forum. Wang Zhaoguo， vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress， Jing Shuping， vice chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC， Wu Dexing， vice chairman of the China-Spain Friendship Group of the NPC， among representatives of various circles， attended the reception.

Meetings of the Political， Economic， Cultural and Sports Committees

At the meetings of the Political， Economic， Cultural and Sports Committees the participants had warm discussions on “The Current International Situation and China’s and Spain’s Foreign Policy”， “The Huge Impact of China’s Accession to the WTO: Opportunities and Challenges in Promoting Bilateral Trade and Investment”， “Cultural Exchanges between China and Spain: Fields of Common Interests and Social Participation”， “The 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games: What Experience Can Beijing Learn from Spain for Holding the 2008 Olympic Games” and other topics as well as the key-note speeches made by the Chinese and Spanish chairmen of the special committees. They put forward many valuable opinions and suggestions and formed documents on the conclusions of their discussions.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui and Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs R. G. Casares respectively served as the Chinese and Spanish chairmen of the Political Committee. Both sides unanimously held， under the complex international situation， new serious challenges have emerged. Non-traditional threats such as terrorism， proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and transnational organized crimes are on the rise. The international community is also facing the challenge of eliminating poverty and narrowing the gap between the North and the South. The globalization should be settled through cooperation among countries in the world. International cooperation based on multi-lateralism and the role of the United Nations should be strengthened. Both sides unanimously condemned terrorism of all forms， and expressed that international cooperation should be promoted in order to thoroughly wipe out terrorism. Both sides also held， the China-Spain Forum will play an important role in promoting the development of bilateral relations. The Political Committee should continue the dialogue so as to realize the goal of enhancing mutual understanding， expanding consensus and promoting cooperation. The two sides decided: 1. To strengthen the political dialogue mechanism; 2. To increase contacts between the political parties， parliaments and non-governmental organizations of the two countries. The necessity of setting up Spain-China friendship group in the Spanish Parliament was emphasized; 3. To establish regular contacts between the political and social research institutes of the two countries so as to enhance mutual understanding; and 4. To enhance mutual understanding through media and promote exchanges of visits.

Gao Hucheng， Chinese vice minister of commerce， and F. U. Mora， Spanish secretary-general for external trade at the State Secretariat of Trade， respectively served as the Chinese and the Spanish chairmen of the Economic Committee. The two sides had frank and in-depth discussions on the issues of further promoting economic cooperation， trade and investment. The two sides held， China， the largest developing country， has made outstanding achievements in its reform， opening up and modernization. Spain is a powerful developed industrial country with dynamic economy. The two countries are highly complementary in economic and trade cooperation. Actively promoted by the governments of the two countries and with joint efforts of the business circles， Sino-Spanish economic and trade cooperation has been developing and bilateral trade volumes have broken records time and again. Mutual investments have made great progress. There exists huge potential in economic and trade cooperation between the two countries， particularly in making investment in each other’s countries. Businessmen of the two countries pointed out in their speeches， China can offer huge business opportunities in the fields of communication， industry， service， recreation， tourism， environmental protection， etc. In order to further expand bilateral economic and trade exchanges and cooperation， in addition to further improving the mechanism of the Mixed Economic and Trade Committee between the two governments， it is necessary for enterprises of the two countries to establish direct contacts and channels. And therefore， it is suggested that the Friendship Centre of Chinese and Spanish Businessmen， a high-level platform for promoting friendship and cooperation， be set up under the mechanism of the Forum with the purpose of providing information and service for businessmen of the two countries， particularly for those businessmen who have made outstanding achievements in their trade.

The Chinese and Spanish chairmen of the Cultural Committee were Meng Xiaosi， Chinese vice minister of culture， and L.A.C. Prado， Spanish secretary of state for culture. Representatives of the two sides all believed， in recent years bilateral cultural and educational exchanges have been increasing in scale and number of projects. Their fields of activity have been expanding， their level upgrading and mutual understanding deepening. The two sides held， both China and Spain are countries with long history and rich cultural resources， and the close cooperation between the two countries is conducive to the development of diversity of culture in the world. Hence， the two sides agreed to take the Forum as an opportunity to further tap the huge potentialities of cultural and educational exchanges and cooperation.

Li Binghua， vice president of the BOCOG， and J.A.G. Angulo， Spanish secretary of state for sport， respectively served as the Chinese and Spanish chairmen of the Sports Committee. The participants had warm discussions and fruitful consultations on increasing exchanges of experience in preparing the Olympic Games， promoting cooperation in sports between the two countries， encouraging Spanish industrial and business circles to participate in the preparation of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games， and promoting exchanges and development in each other’s special and competitive sports items. The Spanish side will encourage good enterprises to actively participate in the preparations of the Beijing Olympic Games， and the Chinese side will offer full and equal opportunities of cooperation to Spanish enterprises. Spain is willing to share with China its experience in organizing large scale sports competitions and in the construction of sports infrastructure and security. The two sides promised to more actively popularize each other’s strong sports items among their own people and increase exchanges in hgh-level sports items， particularly exchanges of experience in training athletes and organizing competitions of high-level sports items， and to give each other full help in learning each other’s strong points.

On December 19， the closing ceremony was held in the Great Hall of the People. At the ceremony Zhang Yesui， Gao Hucheng， Prado and Angulo respectively on behalf of the Political， Economic， Cultural and Sports Committees， read out the summary of the meeting of each committee. Chairman Hu Qili and Chairman Samaranch respectively addressed the Plenum about the first Forum. Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio attended and spoke at the closing ceremony. Executive chairman of the Forum Chen Haosu made a summary report.

In his speech Hu Qili said， through this forum， the two sides held unanimously that the purpose of this forum was to further enhance understanding， reach consensus and promote exchanges and cooperation in extensive fields between China and the EU and between China and Spain in the 21st century. This is the requirement of world peace and development and prosperity of China and Spain as well as Asia and Europe， and conforms to the common aspiration of the two peoples and fundamental interests of the two countries. Therefore， the China–Spain Forum we set up has far-reaching significance and a bright future.

In his speech Chairman Samaranch said， the Forum has deepened the friendship between the Spanish and Chinese people and explored solutions to a number of issues. The documents submitted by the four committees express the strong wish of the two sides to strengthen exchanges in the near future. I have joined the Sports Committee chaired by Secretary of State J. A. Gomez Angulo. The members of the committee have a close relationship， for the Chinese members are not only my friends for many years but also my cooperative partners in the International Olympic Committee. They take pride in taking charge of organizing the 2008 Olympic Games. I sincerely wish the 2008 Olympic Games full success， and the most successful one in the history of the Olympic Games. This Forum is drawing to its close. The next forum will be held in Spain in 2004. I hope at the next forum we will not only talk about plans， but also sum up the achievements we have made since this two-day tight-scheduled forum. Finally I wish to thank the Chinese friends for their warm reception. They have treated us more like brothers than friends.

Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio delivered a speech at the closing ceremony. She said， “The time for preparing the Forum was very short. So， I wish to extend my congratulations to the CPAFFC and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on their good organizing capability and excellent work. I wish to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for what you have done for the Forum and your conscientious work. We must redouble our efforts for the second forum to be held in Spain next year， for you have set a very high standard for us. But I pledge that we will do our utmost to meet this challenge.”

Palacio continued， both Spain and China wish to maintain world peace and hope the United Nations will cope with coming challenges more effectively. Both countries resolutely oppose terrorism. The governments and the people of the two countries hope that all kinds of crisis and conflict will be resolved in a just way as soon as possible. Tens of thousands of innocent people have been driven to despair by the conflicts in the Middle East. Both Spain and China hope that countries in the Third World will develop rapidly. Here， in the name of the Spanish Government， I want to reiterate that Spain was， is and will be the firm supporter of the one-China principle.

In his summary report， Chen Haosu said， through our concerted efforts， the first China-Spain Forum achieved a full success. I， on behalf of the CPAFFC， the Chinese organizer of the Forum， express my congratulations on the success of the Forum， and sincere thanks to the two chairmen for their hard work for the success of the Forum， to the leaders of the foreign ministries， departments of commerce， culture and sports of the two countries for their support， and to friends of various circles for their enthusiastic participation. The China-Spain Forum， as a nongovernmental organization， is a platform for promoting the cooperation between the two sides， a bridge for friendly relations and a position for pushing forward the development of the two countries. The Forum has not only made valuable suggestions on the cooperation between the two countries in the political， economic， cultural and sports fields， but also done some very concrete work to promote cooperation and exchanges.

President Hu Jintao Meeting with Spanish Guests

On December 19， the day when the Forum concluded， President Hu Jintao met with Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio who attended the first Forum and Samaranch， chairman of the Forum’s Spanish Committee and former chairman of the International Olympic Committee. Also present at the meeting were Hu Qili， chairman of the Forum’s Chinese Committee， Jing Shuping， former vice chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC， Chen Haosu， president of the CPAFFC， R. G. Casares， Spanish secretary of state for foreign affairs， F.U. Mora， secretary-general for external trade at the State Secretariat for Trade， L.A. Prado， secretary of state for culture， Gomez Augulo， secretary of state for sport and Sebastian de Erice， Spanish ambassador to China.

President Hu expressed his welcome to Mrs. Ana Palacio， Mr. Samaranch and all the friends who participated in the Forum， and extended his congratulations on the successful convening of the first China-Spain Forum. President Hu said， Samaranch， an old friend of the Chinese people， is widely known in China. Hu expressed his appreciation to Samaranch for his important contributions to China’s successful bid of the 2008 Olympic Games and assumption of the post as chairman of the Forum’s Spanish Committee to continue his efforts to promote Sino-Spanish friendship. The China-Spain Forum composed of noted figures of various circles of the two countries is highly representative. The establishment of the Forum has built a new bridge for friendly exchanges between the two peoples and has important significance for enhancing mutual understanding and friendship， expanding consensus， and promoting exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in all areas. President Hu hopes that the results of the Forum will be put into practice by both sides to further expand and deepen Sino-Spanish friendly cooperation. He wished the second forum greater success.

Foreign Minister Ana Palacio said， the success of the Forum should be attributed to the high efficiency of the Chinese colleagues. The Spanish side experienced the profound friendship of the Chinese side. Just as Chinese Chairman Mr. Hu Qili said， the success of the Forum is just the first step， there is still a long way to go in the future. The Spanish side is also facing an arduous challenge. The second forum that will be held in Spain must also achieve success. Now more and more Spanish people began to know about and pay attention to China. People of various circles in Spain are enthusiastic in participating in the Forum. The success of this Forum has further shortened the distance between our two peoples. In the future the Spanish Government will give stronger support to the activities held by the Forum. I will also give my full help to the second forum to be held in Spain in 2004， she added.

On the eve of the closing ceremony， State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan held a banquet in honour of Foreign Minister Ana Palacio， Chairman Samaranch and other important members of the Spanish delegation， expressing his congratulations on and encouragement to the successful convening of the Forum and praising the positive results it had achieved.