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CPAFFC Working Group Visits El Salvador

Invited by Joan Manuel de Jesus Flores， mayor of Quezaltepeque， El Salvador， a CPAFFC working group headed by Wang Hongqiang， deputy director general of the Department of American and Oceanian Affairs of the CPAFFC， paid a friendly visit to El Salvador from June 25 to 29.

Dr. Salvador Arias， leader of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) in the Legislative Assembly， Medardo Gonzalez， general coordinator of the FMLN and all the members of its Political Committee met with the group. Wang Hongqiang said， though there is no diplomatic relations between China and El Salvador， the CPAFFC is willing to work actively to promote the exchanges in the cultural， economic and other fields between the people of the two countries through nongovernmental channels and make efforts towards the normalization of relations between the two countries.

Friendly personages of El Salvador said， China’s reform and opening up has attracted the world’s attention. With the rapid development of its economy， China plays an increasingly greater role on the world stage. They are willing to do what they can to promote friendly contacts in various areas between El Salvador and China.

The working group attended the ceremony of the founding of the Salvadorean Friendship Association with the People of China on June 29. Wang Hongqiang delivered a speech of congratulations on behalf of the CPAFFC and had a working conference with its leading members.(Ba Cuicui)

CPAFFC Working Group Visits Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados

A CPAFFC working group led by Wang Hongqiang， deputy director general of the Department of American and Oceanian Affairs visited Trinidad and Tobago， and Barbados from June 29 to July 5.

President George Maxwell Richards of Trinidad and Tobago met with the working group at the Presidential Palace on June 30. He spoke highly of the achievements China has made in reform and opening up. He said， China’s economic development is eye catching， but in many countries people have little knowledge about China. Through contacts between friendship organizations people can introduce to each other their respective cultures and experience， dispel misunderstanding and achieve common development. He hoped that the CPAFFC would make greater contributions to furthering bilateral friendly exchanges. President Richards showed great interest in the Chinese society and culture and paid special attention to the construction of the Three Gorges Dam， calling it an amazing water conservancy project. He hoped that he would have the opportunity to see it in person in the future.

During its visit in Barbados， the working group called on Mrs. St. John， widow of former Barbadian prime minister Bernard St. John， Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford， former Barbadian prime minister， and his wife， and Gen. Louise， former chief of staff. They all said that they would actively support the work of Barbados-China Friendship Association and give assistance to the friendly exchanges between the two countries.

The working group was accorded warm reception by the Trinidad and Tobago-China Friendship Society and the Barbados-China Friendship Association. At the working conferences， Wang Hongqiang， head of the group， thanked the personages of the two friendship organizations for the efforts they have made over the years to promote the friendly exchanges between the people of their respective countries and China， and hoped to strengthen contacts， learn from each other and continue to enhance people-to-people friendly exchanges in the future.(Ba Cuicui)

Twenty Years of Diplomatic Relations Between China and Bolivia Marked in Beijing

The CPAFFC held a reception in Beijing on July 8 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Bolivia. Cheng Siwei， vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and president of the China-Latin America Friendship Association， was present at the reception.

In her speech， CPAFFC Vice President Li Xiaolin said， since China and Bolivia established diplomatic ties 20 years ago， bilateral relations have developed smoothly. The two countries have increased exchanges of high-level visits and contacts and cooperation in the political， economic， cultural and other fields. With the smooth development of state relations， people-to-people contacts have also grown. The CPAFFC and several friendship-with-China organizations in Bolivia have forged long-term friendly and cooperative relations. The exchange of visits and other contacts between the two peoples have greatly promoted mutual understanding.

Bolivian ambassador to China Augusto Arguedas Del Carpio said， marked progress has been made in the exchanges and cooperation in various fields between Bolivia and China since the establishment of diplomatic relations. The exchanges of high-level visits between the governments， parliaments， political parties and the military are increasing. The Bolivian government will make continued efforts to enhance the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries and friendship between the two peoples.

Chinese Youth Plastic Arts Delegation Visits France

At the invitation of the Federation of French-Chinese Associations (FFCA)， a Chinese youth plastic arts delegation， sent by the CPAFFC， paid a friendly visit to France from July 18 to 26. To support the holding of the Chinese Culture Year in France and the French Culture Year in China， the CPAFFC and the FFCA decided in 2003 to send students studying plastic arts to visit each other’s countries and have friendly exchanges. In 2004， Alain Caporossi， secretary general of the FFCA， led five French middle school students to China. In July this year， the CPAFFC sent a 5-member delegation consisting of students and teachers from the Animation School of the Communication University of China to France. The delegation went to Paris， Rennes， Nantes and Besancon， where they visited art museums and ordinary French families to learn about how they lived. They also introduced Chinese culture and plastic arts to French friends. In Rennes， the delegation visited the JPL Animation. Several animation films made by Jean-Pierre Lemoulant， founder of the company， have won awards in international cartoon and animation festivals. At the informal discussion， the two sides had in-depth exchanges on the creation， fund management， the development of animation technology and the prospects for cooperation between Asia and Europe. The discussion opened up the views of the members of the delegation and was very helpful for them to learn about the trend of animation in Europe. In Nantes and Besancon， the delegation met with the French students who had visited China last year. They exchanged their impressions and techniques.(Hao Zhongwei)

Reception Marks 50th Anniversary of Sino-Nepalese Diplomatic Relations

A reception jointly sponsored by the CPAFFC， the China-Nepal Friendship Association (CNFA) and the Nepalese Embassy in China was held on August 1 in the auditorium of the CPAFFC to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Nepal. Sun Fuling， former vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and president of the CNFA， Chen Haosu， president of the CPAFFC， Zhang Yesui， vice foreign minister， Cai Wu， vice minister of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China， Narendra Raj Panday， Nepalese ambassador to China， among 120 representatives from various circles in the capital， attended the reception.

CPAFFC President Chen Haosu said in his speech， China and Nepal have witnessed a stable development of bilateral ties since the two countries forged diplomatic relations 50 years ago. The two countries maintained a smooth development of friendly cooperation in such fields as politics， economy， trade， science and technology， and culture. Strengthening the relationship of good neighbourliness and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries not only conforms to the fundamental interests of the two peoples， but is also conducive to peace and stability in the region. Chen Haosu expressed the belief that with joint efforts by both sides friendship between China and Nepal will be further consolidated and developed.

Nepalese Ambassador Panday said， the establishment of diplomatic relations with China in 1955 was an important landmark in Napal's foreign relations. In the past half a century， the two countries have established a firm and enduring basis of relationship. The two sides have enjoyed frequent exchanges of high-level visits and profound friendship. The ambassador said， China has always been an important partner of Nepal.

CNFA President Sun Fuling， CPAFFC President Chen Haosu， Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui and Ambassador Panday unveiled a photo exhibition in celebration of 50 years of Sino-Nepalese diplomatic relations before the reception.