Ｓｐｅｅｃｈ ｂｙ Ｐｒｅｓｉｄｅｎｔ Ｈｕ Ｊｉｎｔａｏ

Ladies and Gentlemen，

Comrades and Friends，

Today， we are joyously gathered together to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC). On behalf of the Chinese government and the Chinese people， I would like to express warm congratulations to this meeting and extend cordial greetings to comrades of the CPAFFC and all other comrades engaged in people-to-people diplomacy. I also express hearty welcome to the international friends present at the meeting and convey sincere thanks to the friends of various countries who care for and support China’s modernization drive.

The Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries is an important people-to-people diplomacy organization in China. Fifty years ago， in light of the international developments and the needs of diplomatic work， the Chinese People’s Association for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries was formed， with a view to introducing New China to the international community and increasing mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese people and the people of other countries. Later on this organization developed into the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign countries. During the past five decades， the CPAFFC has conscientiously implemented the foreign policies and principles of the Party and state and closely coordinated with the total diplomacy of our country. Adhering to the purposes of enhancing people’s friendship， furthering international cooperation， maintaining world peace and promoting common development， it has forged extensive relations with most countries in the world， kept close links with many international institutions and friendly organizations， and established contacts with great numbers of international friends. It has opened up broad channels for friendly exchanges， and done a great deal of useful work with admirable results in promoting friendship between the Chinese people and other peoples of the world and in creating a favorable international environment needed for national development. The 50-year-course of development of the CPAFFC has fully proved that people-to-people diplomacy holds an important place in total diplomacy， and the CPAFFC is an important force pushing the development of China’s people-to-people diplomacy.

The world today is undergoing profound changes， bringing to the peoples new opportunities for development and severe challenges as well. How to seize the opportunities and take up the challenges to realize perpetual peace and common development is an important subject confronting the people of all countries.

Peace and development remain the themes of our era. The factors for maintaining world peace are increasing steadily， and the appeal for common development is growing ever stronger. To preserve peace and promote development represents the fundamental interests of all human race and the shared aspirations of all peoples. The world needs peace， nations aspire development， society seeks progress and economy wants prosperity. This historical trend determines fundamentally the direction for the development of the world politics， economy and culture， and is the decisive factor promoting the establishment of a new international political and economic order which is fair and rational.

The trend of world multipolarization and economic globalization continues to develop. To build a multipolar world accords with the objective laws of the development of human society and is conducive to safeguarding the fundamental interests of all nations and all peoples. Economic globalization is the objective requirement and inevitable outcome of the growth of social productive forces and of science and technology. It has facilitated the flow and optimum allocation of the elements of production such as funds and technology in the international community， and helped promote the development of world productive forces and the economy of all countries.

The progress and innovation in science and technology are making headway with unprecedented speed. The rapid development of modern science and technology with information technology and biological technology as the core has tremendously increased the ability of the human race to understand and utilize nature and create better future. It has provided a new and strong motive force for the development of productive forces， which has not only stimulated profound changes in the political， economic and cultural life of humanity， but also opened up bright prospects for the progress of world civilization.

The above-mentioned trends of development will inevitably push the human society to advance continuously to a better future. At the same time， we are keenly aware that the present world is faced with many contradictions and challenges which cannot be neglected. It is a heavy responsibility and takes a long way to resolve the two major issues of peace and development. The international forces are seriously imbalanced， and the formation of a structure of world multipolarization has yet to experience a long and complicated evolution. Under the conditions of very uneven development of world economy， developed countries have become the main beneficiaries of economic globalization， while developing countries on the whole find themselves in a disadvantageous position， and some are even in danger of marginalization. In the surging tide of a new revolution in science and technology， the gap between developing countries and developed countries is still widening， which has intensified the imbalance in the economic and social developments on a world scale. Now the elements of traditional and non-traditional threats to security are intertwined. The elements of instability， uncertainty， and non-security affecting peace and development are increasing. Hegemonism and power politics have new manifestations. Local conflicts triggered by ethnic or religious contradictions and border or territorial disputes have cropped up from time to time. Incidents of terrorism have occurred one after another. All this makes people in the world deeply worried.

As opportunities and challenges co-exist today， we should use the opportunities effectively and meet the challenges dynamically， so as to continously advance the lofty cause of peace and development of humanity. This relies on not only the concerted efforts of all governments， but also the joint endeavours of all peoples in the world. The peoples are the masters of their own countries and of this globe we inhabit. The future and destiny of the world should be grasped， determined and created by the people of all countries.

People-to-people diplomacy affords an important channel for the contacts between the people of various countries. It plays an important role in urging them to strengthen solidarity， take up challenges and create the future together. In the world today， the role of people-to-people diplomacy is becoming more and more important. To develop people-to-people diplomacy is conducive to enhancing friendship between the peoples， promoting economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation among the countries and laying a broad social mass base for the development of state-to-state relations.

The Chinese government has always attached great importance to people-to-people diplomacy. It has always regarded it as a component part of the country’s total diplomacy and emphasized bringing its important role into full play. The Chinese government will， as always， support our people-to-people diplomacy in its efforts to increase the understanding and friendship between the Chinese people and the people of other countries， to consolidate and develop the cooperation of mutual benefit between China and other countries， and to safeguard the common interests of all the peoples in the world.

Comrades working for people-to-people diplomacy should persistently act under the guidance of Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of Three Represents， fully implement the foreign policies and principles of the Party and state and， in accordance with the requirements of serving total diplomacy， national construction， the great cause of peaceful reunification of the motherland and world peace， constantly bring forth new ideas in work， improve working methods and strive to open up new prospects for work， so as to serve the cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics and promote the solidarity and friendship between the people of all countries in a better way.

It is hoped that you will further persist in enhancing people’s friendship as your primary work， staying rooted in the people， focusing on the people and placing hopes on the people; make friends extensively and make close friends; carry out friendly exchanges rich in content and varied in form with the people of other countries; promote the deepening of mutual understanding and sentiments of amity between the people of China and other countries， and constantly make new contributions to consolidating and developing the friendship between the Chinese and other peoples， and expanding the social mass base for the relations between China an other countries.

It is hoped that you will bring into fuller play the characteristics and advantages of people-to-people diplomacy and expand the field of people-to-people friendship work; increase the awareness of serving economic construction; tap the potentialities and actively make innovations; do more work to publicize China’s reform and opening up and its modernization drive; do more work to serve as a bridge for “bringing in” and “going out”; and do more work to promote cooperation of mutual benefit between China and other countries， and strive to make new contributions to building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and accelerating the socialist modernization.

It is hoped that you will intensify your efforts to increase cultural exchange with other countries; introduce to the Chinese people the rich fine culture of other countries， and likewise， introduce to the people of other countries the Chinese extensive and profound culture; and do more work to resolve questions and doubts and， through cultural exchange， urge the Chinese people and other peoples to learn from each other， and encourage the Chinese culture and the culture of other countries to draw on each other’s merits， so as to make new contributions to maintaining the diversity of the world and promoting the prosperity and development of the human civilization.

Friends and Comrades，

The Chinese people are working hard to realize the grand objective of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. The development of China needs a peaceful international environment. The Chinese nation is a peace-loving nation. China has always been a positive force propelling world peace and development. The purpose of China’s foreign policy is to maintain world peace and promote common development. We will hold high the banner of peace， development and cooperation， unswervingly pursue an independent foreign policy of peace and follow the road of peaceful development， and develop relations and expand cooperation with all other countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence. Together with the people of all other countries， we will actively promote the development of world multipolarization and economic globalization in a direction conducive to the realization of perpetual peace and common prosperity， expedite democracy in international relations， maintain diversity in development models and work for a new international political and economic order. We will continue to improve and develop our relations with developed countries， expand the converging points of common interests and realize the steady development of interrelations. We will continue the foreign policy of building a good-neighborly relationship and partnership with our surrounding countries， actively promote regional cooperation and bring the exchange and cooperation in various fields with these countries to a new high. We will continue to strengthen the solidarity and cooperation with the vast number of developing countries， safeguard the common interests and realize common development. We will continue to actively participate in multilateral diplomatic activities and further play a positive role in the United Nations and other international or regional organizations to safeguard the common interests of the people of all nations.

Comrades and Friends，

To maintain world peace and promote common development is the fundamental well-being of the entire humanity. It relies on the concerted efforts of all governments and all peoples. I sincerely hope that the people of all countries will strengthen solidarity and expand cooperation to create a better future for the world.

Thank you!