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At the invitation of the CPAFFC， a delegation of the Russian Centre of International Scientific and Cultural Cooperation (RCISCC) led by its president V.V. Tereshkova paid a visit to Beijing and Shanghai from May 19 to 24， 2004， and attended the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the CPAFFC.

V. V. Tereshkova is a famous Russian social activist and the world’s first woman astronaut. From June 16 to 19， 1963 she traveled through space in the “Vostok 6” spaceship for 70 hours and 50 minutes. She was honoured with the title of Heroine of the Soviet Union that year and conferred upon many state medals including the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star Medal. She won the Joliot Curie Gold Medal and the United Nations Gold Medal of Peace. She has served as president of the RCISCC for many years and is now president of the Presidium of the Russian International Cooperation Association (RICA). She attaches great importance to the work of developing friendship with China and has made unremitting efforts and outstanding contribution to the cause of Russia-China friendship. In June 2002 she was conferred upon the honorary title of Friendship Ambassador by the CPAFFC.

On May 20 V. V. Tereshkova and her party attended the meeting in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the CPAFFC in the Great Hall of the People. Before the meeting President Hu Jintao， State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan and others met with V. V. Tereshkova and other important foreign guests. She spoke at the meeting. The RCISCC (formerly was known as the Union of Societies for Friendship and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries) led by her is the first foreign friendship organization that establishes friendly cooperative relations with the CPAFFC. In her speech she spoke highly of the great deal of work the CPAFFC had done in the nongovernmental diplomatic arena and its contributions to Russia-China friendship over the years.

She was much impressed by President Hu Jintao’s personal attendance and delivery of an important speech at the meeting， saying that it fully reflected that the Chinese leaders pay great importance to nongovernmental diplomacy and fully affirm the work done by the CPAFFC.

The delegation’s other activities in China included:

1. Gathering of the leaders of the Chinese and Russian friendship organizations.

The leaders of the CPAFFC attached great importance to Tereshkova’s and her party’s visit to China. On the evening of May 19， Chen Haosu， president of the CPAFFC and the Sino-Russian Friendship Association (SRFA)， held a banquet in Beijing Hotel in honour of Tereshkova and her entourage M. Titarenko， president of the Russia-China Friendship Association， and A.S. Sarymov， deputy head of the RCISCC. Russian Ambassador to China A. Rogachev， Minister –Counsellor S. N. Goncharov， and Counsellor Y. Metelev were invited to attend the banquet. Also present at the banquet were Liu Shu， executive vice president of the SRFA and vice president of the Federation of Chinese Woman Scientists and Technicians， Bai Shuxiang， vice president of the SRFA and the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles， and president of the Chinese Dancers’ Association， Wang Yongzhi， council member of the SRFA and chief designer of China’s manned space programme， and Gao Meng， writer and translator of Russian literature.

CPAFFC President Chen Haosu had cordial conversations with the Russian friends. He highly appraised Tereshkova’s outstanding contributions to the world’s exploration of the outer space and the efforts made by her and the RCISCC led by her over the years for the cause of Sino-Russian friendship. Tereshkova expressed her thanks to Chen Haosu for inviting her to visit China and heartfelt congratulations on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the CPAFFC. She hoped that the two organizations would keep close cooperation in the future so as to achieve richer fruits in the Russia-China friendship. She said that she had been following the development of China’s exploration of the outer space with great interest. When the news came that China had successfully launched the manned spaceship， she was very excited and heartily rejoiced at the achievements made by the Chinese people.

Liu Shu said with emotion， Tereshkova’s space flight has proved woman’s capacity to the common people and especially has great influence on the Chinese women， for traditionally women were discriminated in China. It can be said that the achievements women have made today in all fields are partially owing to Tereshkova’s contribution， because she has given women courage and strength. It is gratifying that her example has not only inspired one generation， but also influenced several generations to work hard. This kind of influence will last forever.

Bei Shuxiang who is cordially called by Ambassador Rogachev as “China’s Ulanova” praised Tereshkova as an example of women in the world， and said that in many aspects the Chinese women should learn from the Russian women. On the friendship between the Chinese and Russian people， she recalled with deep feelings P.A. Gusev and other Soviet dancers who worked in China in the 1950s and their important role in the development of ballet in China， and said that China should strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Russia in the fields of literature and art. Academician Wang Yongzhi， chief designer of China’s manned space programme， also gave a warm speech， praising the traditional friendship between the two peoples and hoping to strengthen cooperation with Russia in the field of space technology. Wang presented Tereshkova with a model of “Shenzhou 5” spacecraft. Tereshkova said happily that she would bring the precious gift back to Russia’s Cosmonaut Training Centre (Star City)， and place it in the Space Museum， for it represents the outstanding achievements of China’s space technology.

Ambassador Rogachev told the leaders of the Chinese and Russian friendship organizations that the Chinese and Russian leaders had designated this year the Year of Friendship between the Chinese and Russian Youth， and that the two countries would exchange 100-member delegations of youth to strengthen understanding and friendship between the youth of the two countries. He hoped that the two countries would continue to attach importance to training successors to the cause of Russia-China friendship so that good neighbourliness and friendship between the two countries could last from generation to generation.

The banquet was permeated with a warm and friendly atmosphere. Before the banquet CPAFFC President Chen Haosu and RICA President Tereshkova signed the plan of cooperation for the year 2004-2005 between the two friendship organizations. Ambassador Rogachev handed the letter of congratulations signed by S. M. Mironov， chairman of the Russian Federation Council， to Chen Haosu. Other organizations including the Russia-China Friendship Association， the Russian Twin Cities International Association and the St. Petersburg International Cooperation Association also sent letters of congratulations to the CPAFFC.

2.Visit

On May 21， Tereshkova and her party visited the Beijing Aerospace City. Deputy Chief Designer Zhou Jianping received the delegation warmly at the spaceflight command control hall and in the Beijing Space Medical Engineering Institute， and gave a detailed briefing about the process of the launching of China’s first manned spaceship， how the command control system kept in contact with astronaut Yang Liwei and training of astronauts， and answered questions raised by Tereshkova. Tereshkova had cordial conversations with the Chinese astronauts and encouraged them to train hard and make full preparations for the space flight and win honour for the motherland. She said， before leaving for China， her colleagues and friends——Russian astronauts， gathered at her home to see her off. When learning that she was going to visit China’s Aerospace City and meet the Chinese astronauts， they were envious of her. They asked her to convey Russian astronauts’ most sincere congratulations and greetings to the Chinese counterparts.

The visit to the China Science and Technology Museum in Beijing and the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum left a deep impression on the Russian guests. Children wearing red scarves warmly welcomed Tereshkova， presenting her with flowers and tying a red scarf on her. They clustered round her， vying with one another for shaking hands with her and asking for her autographs. Tereshkova satisfied the children’s wishes one by one. In the China Science and Technology Museum Tereshkova chatted with the Chinese children and was interviewed by a number of media including CCTV. She said that exploration of the outer space could bring great benefits to humankind and make great contribution to the development of a country’s economy. She believed that the outer space would become an arena for international peaceful development and cooperation and benefit humankind. She hoped that the children would study hard and devote themselves to the astronautic science in the future， and that there would be more woman scientists and astronauts in China.

During her stay in Shanghai， Jiang Yiren， chairman of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Political Consultative Conference， met with the delegation.

In 1988 invited by the CPAFFC Tereshkova visited Beijing and Shanghai. After more than 15 years she came again and witnessed the tremendous changes that had taken place in China in the past decade. The Shanghai Pudong New Area that rose on farmland left deep impressions on the delegation. The Russian friends went to the Pudong Airport by the maglev train at the speed of 430 kilometers per hour， experiencing the speed of “flight on the ground”. Tereshkova said excitedly， before I came to China， I had already learnt that Shanghai had become a metropolis of the 22nd century. It really deserved the reputation. I am happy to see the achievements made by the great Chinese people.

Tereshkova and her party were deeply moved by the rich itinerary of the visit and the hosts’ meticulous care for them. On leaving Shanghai， she again thanked CPAFFC President Chen Haosu and the Chinese friends for their kind invitation and warm and friendly reception and thanked SRFA Vice President Liu Shu for finding time in the midst of pressing affairs to accompany them throughout the visit. She sincerely wished China prosperity and the Chinese people happiness， and the friendship and cooperation between the Russian and Chinese people to be pushed to a new height.