CPAFFC Vice President Liu Zhiming and His Party Visit Croatia, Austria and Slovakia

At the invitation of the Croatia-China Friendship Association (CCFA)， the Austrian Association for Promotion of Friendship and Cultural Relations with China (AAPFCRC)， and the Slovakia-China Friendship Association (SCFA)， a CPAFFC delegation led by its Vice President Liu Zhiming paid a goodwill visit to Croatia， Austria and Slovakia from May 16 to 27，2006.

In Croatia

Croatia’s assistant foreign minister Ivica Tomic met with the delegation. He said， Croatia and China have very good relations. First of all， the governments of the two countries keep good relations with frequent exchanges of high-level visits. Last year Croatian prime minister made a successful visit to China. The two sides signed a joint statement on establishing Croatia-China comprehensive cooperative partnership， thus laying a good foundation for further developing bilateral relations. Economic and trade relations between the two countries have also been developing smoothly; however， the two sides should make concerted efforts to increase Croatia’s export to China. He welcomed Chinese enterprises to make full use of Rijeka Port and turn it into a distribution centre for Chinese goods to enter the European market.

On the same day， Ivo Josipovic， chairman of the Croatia-China Friendship Group of the Assembly of Croatia， and five assemblymen of the Social Democratic Party of Croatia and the Croatian Party of Rights met with and entertained the delegation at the Assembly Building. They said， they support the one-China stance and admire outstanding progress China has made since reform and opening up. They hoped that the two countries would strengthen traditional friendship and further increase cooperation in the economic， trade， cultural， educational， scientific and technological fields.

During its stay in Croatia， the delegation also visited Metkovic and Primosten， exchanged views with mayors and officials of the Bureau of Tourism of these cities on further strengthening exchanges between localities of the two countries. The delegation also paid visits to homes of some members of the CCFA and attended the concert in celebration of the 12th anniversary of the founding of the CCFA.

In Austria

Anna Elisabeth Haselbach， executive vice president of the Austrian Federal Council， expressed her warm welcome to the CPAFFC delegation led by Vice President Liu Zhiming， and happily recalled her recent visit to China at the invitation of the CPAFFC. She said that it was significant that the two friendship organizations joined hands to hold the Year of China and that the Federal Council would support these activities wholeheartedly.

After the meeting， she held a banquet in honour of the delegation and went to the City Hall of Vienna together with the delegation to inaugurate the CPAFFC-sponsored photo exhibition China’s Beautiful West. Liu Zhiming and Haselbach made warm speeches at the opening ceremony. More than 50 excellent photos taken by Zhang Tongsheng， vice chairman of the Art Committee of China Photographers Association， were on display ， showing beautiful scenery and local customs of China’s West. Walter Strutzenberger， president of the AAPFCRC and former executive vice president of the Austrian National Council， among several dozens of people of various circles of Austria， attended the opening ceremony.

The delegation visited Eisenstadt， capital of Burgenland State. Peter Rezar， deputy governor of the State， met with all the members of the delegation at the famous Yisitehase Palace. He happily recalled his visit to Hunan Province when he visited China together with the delegation of the AAPFCRC in 2000， and expressed his wishes to further strengthen substantial cooperation with Hunan Province which had formed friendship ties with his state. Peng Liping， member of the delegation and vice president of the Hunan Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， briefed about the development of Hunan in recent years and the Conference on Investment in China’s Central Area， an important event that the province would hold this year， and hoped that Burgenland would actively participate in and promote friendly exchanges and cooperation between cities of the two provinces.

In Slovakia

This was the first time that a CPAFFC delegation visited Slovakia at the invitation of the SCFA founded in 2004 with the expert of Chinese literature of the Slovakian Academy of Sciences and famous translator Marina Carnogurska as its honorary president and Chinese Slovakian Xiang Hanping as its president. This visit marked the start of formal cooperation between the CPAFFC and the SCFA.

In Slovakia， the delegation paid an official call on Ferdinand Vitek， president of the Association of Cities of Slovakia (ACS) and mayor of Nitra， Hinarovic Marian， secretary general of the ACS， and Dr. Branislav Hochel， deputy mayor of Bratislava. The mayors of the two cities hoped to develop cooperation with Chinese localities and gain support from the CPAFFC in this aspect. The two sides agreed on strengthening cooperation between localities and promoting mutual understanding between the two countries.