Ｃｏｍｍｅｍｏｒａｔｉｏｎ ｏｆ ５０ｔｈ Ａｎｎｉｖｅｒｓａｒｙ ｏｆ Ｂａｎｄｕｎｇ Ｃｏｎｆｅｒｅｎｃｅ Ｈｅｌｄ ｉｎ Ｂｅｉｊｉｎｇ

This year sees the 50th anniversary of the Bandung Conference that symbolized the awakening of the broad Asian and African regions and marked the Asian and African countries becoming an important political force in the international arena. The CPAFFC held a meeting in the Great Hall of the People on April 18 to commemorate this event. Gu Xiulian， vice chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC)， Tang Jiaxuan， state councillor， Tomur Dawamat， former vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the NPC and president of the China-Arab Friendship Association， Chen Haosu and Wang Yunze， president and vice president of the CPAFFC， and diplomatic envoys of the Asian and African countries in China among 200 representatives of various circles in the capital attended the commemoration. State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan delivered a speech. President Chen Haosu， Aa Kustia， ambassador of Indonesia， the host country of the Bandung Conference， Eleih-Elle Etian， ambassador of Cameroon and dean of the African diplomatic corps， Sanjay Bhattacharyya， charge d’affaires ad interim of the Indian Embassy and Su Hao， professor of China Foreign Affairs University also spoke on the occasion.

In his speech， Tang Jiaxuan said， 50 years ago， leaders of 29 Asian and African countries gathered in the well-known Indonesian city Bandung for a conference that had epoch-making significance. The Conference opened a splendid chapter of solidarity among Asian and African countries and showed that Asian and African countries were a rising political force in the international arena. The ten principles reached at the Conference and the Bandung Spirit they embody have become norms guiding the establishment and development of friendly and cooperative relations between countries with the same or different social systems and laid a solid foundation for propelling the establishment of a just and reasonable new international political and economic order.

Tang Jiaxuan pointed out， in the new historical period when opportunities and challenges coexist， Asian and African countries， which are faced with the common missions of maintaining national security and stability and accelerating the economic and social development of their respective countries， should carry forward the Bandung Spirit and press ahead with Afro-Asian cooperation. Asian and African countries should seek common ground while reserving differences， enhance solidarity and build and develop a new Afro-Asian strategic partnership oriented towards the future. They should deepen cooperation， complement one another to achieve mutually beneficial and win-win result and push for broader， deeper， lasting and effective cooperation. They should accelerate development and enhance their ability for self-development and international competitiveness to achieve a coordinated economic and social development.

Tang Jiaxuan stressed， to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with the developing countries including Asian and African countries is the basis of China’s foreign policy. China’s cooperation with Asian and African countries has been enriched in content and expanded in scale. China will stick to the road of peace and development and always be a good neighbour， good friend and partner of Asian and African countries. China’s development will not hinder nor threaten any other country， but make greater contributions to safeguarding world peace and promoting common development.

CPAFFC President Chen Haosu said in his speech: “Today 50 years ago， government representatives of 29 countries from the rising Afro-Asian world held a historical conference in Bandung of Indonesia. Included in the agenda are all the most concerned issues of the Asian and African countries including economic cooperation， cultural cooperation， human rights， national self-determination， world peace and cooperation， etc. It was the first time that the Asian and African countries initiated and held an international conference without the participation of colonialists， proving to the world their superb political wisdom the western imperialist powers could not reach. They put forward the slogan of seeking common ground while reserving differences. Proceeding from it， the conference gained an enormous success of unity and cooperation. The Declaration on Promotion of World Peace and Cooperation in the final Communiqué， known as the ten principles of the Bandung Conference， has gone down in the history of human progress and development and together with the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence become important guiding principles for handling international relations.”

Chen pointed out: “50 years have witnessed the vicissitudes and earth-shaking changes in Afro-Asian region as well as the whole world. A large number of Asian and African countries won independence successively. The colonial system collapsed completely. The Afro-Asian Conference played an important role in this historical progress. Moreover， solidarity and cooperation among the Asian and African countries are changing the outlook of the world. Today， the developing countries， most of which are in Asia and Africa， are getting united to work together to face the challenge of economic globalization and regional integration and exert their utmost efforts to safeguard world peace and promote common development. The Bundong Spirit formed at the conference is still the sacred inspiration encouraging the people of the developing countries to open a new chapter of victory in the new century.”

Chen emphasized: “As an active member of the developing countries， China always attaches importance to solidarity and cooperation with the Asian and African countries and regards cooperation and exchanges with the developing countries as the basis of its diplomatic work. China not only proposed and carried out the principle of seeking common ground while reserving differences but also exerted consistent effort to expand consensus and seek double win through cooperation. In recent years， we have further strengthened cooperation with Asian and African countries. We have cooperated closely with the ASEAN countries and started the building of free trade zone. The cooperation in the form of 10+1 (10 ASEAN members plus China) and 10+3 (10 ASEAN members plus China， Japan and the Republic of Korea) have been going smoothly. We have established with India the strategic cooperative partnership oriented for peace and prosperity and enjoyed close friendship and good cooperation with Pakistan and other South-Asian countries. We have also launched China-Arab and China-Africa cooperation forums and made steady progress in cooperation with Arab and African countries. Our friendship with Asian and African countries has stood the test of various difficulties. The spirit of solidarity between China and its Asian neighbours in helping each other and taking on challenges together has been shown in the fight against SARS and bird flu and in the disaster relief efforts made in the wake of the calamities of earthquakes and Indian Ocean tsunami. We are fully confident that the developing countries will create a future of common prosperity. We will not only achieve our own development through close cooperation， but also make the greatest contribution to the bright future of the world through the realization of common progress of the developing countries.”

Indonesian Ambassador Aa Kustia said in his speech: “The Asian-African Conference marks the ending of colonial rule， bringing the countries in the Asian and African continents to independence and following the emergence of new states as distinguished members of the world community. Fifty years is not really a long period in terms of world history but， it is incredible to witness how much has changed in both Asian and African continents over the past fifty years.” He pointed out: “Indonesia as one of the five sponsoring countries of the Asian-African Conference 1955， together with the Government of South Africa， will be convening the Asian-African Summit in Jakarta， on the coming 22nd to 23rd of April， to build a ‘New Asian-African Strategic Partnership’. So that we are of one voice and one spirit in facing a brighter future. I do hope that it will give evidence of the fact that we Asian and African nations understand that Asia and Africa can prosper only when they are united， and that even the safety of the world at large cannot be safeguarded without a united Asia-Africa.”

In their speeches， Cameroonian Ambassador Eleih-Elle Etian， Charge d’affaires ad interim of the Indian Embassy Sanjay Bhattacharyya and Professor of China Foreign Affairs University Su Hao reviewed the Bandung Spirit and all agreed that in the 21st century， with the acceleration of globalization， Asian and African countries must take an active part in the regional and global forums to explore a completely new and more equitable international political and economic order and that Asian and African countries should share experience and make joint efforts to create a better future.