Treasured Moments in Sino-Swedish Relations Photo Exhibition Opens

The Photo Exhibition of the Treasured Moments in Sino-Swedish Relations jointly organized by the CPAFFC and the Embassy of Sweden opened on July 19 in the Friendship Museum of the CPAFFC. President of the CPAFFC Chen Haosu and the visiting Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Bosse Ringholm attended the opening ceremony and made speeches.

In his speech， President Chen Haosu said， the Sino-Swedish relations witnessed an important historical event in the last two days when His Majesty the King Carl XVI Gustaf and Her Majesty the Queen Silvia paid a friendly visit to China. After a 9-month sailing， the replica of the original ship Gotheborg returned to Guangzhou for a visit， highlighting the traditional Sino-Swedish friendly contact in the new century. The return visit saw a fast-developing and open China which maintains close link with the world， while the Chinese people perceived the advanced place Sweden occupies in the modern world in the replica of the old ship Gotheborg. He said， the great passion for mutual understanding between the two countries and the continuously growing friendship on the basis of good understanding have remained an unchanging theme of our bilateral relations.

Ringholm said， Sweden and China have a long history of friendly and mutually beneficial relations. When Sweden established diplomatic relation with the People’s Republic of China in 1950， it was the first western country to do so. Since then， and especially since the Chinese reform and opening-up process was initiated in 1978， the contacts between the two people have expanded rapidly. Today， as our relations are steadily growing in all fields， we should thank the personages and organizations for helping deepen and broaden Sweden-China relations. He hoped the “treasured moments” displayed in this photo exhibition would express our gratitude to them and remind people of the history of our peaceful and friendly relations.

Li Nianping， deputy director of the Department of European Affairs of the Foreign Ministry， Franz Jessen， minister counsellor of the European Union Delegation of the European Commission and diplomats from Germany， Poland， Austria and Denmark also attended the opening ceremony.