ＣＰＰＣＣ Ｖｉｃｅ Ｃｈａｉｒｍａｎ Ａｂｄｕｌ’ａｈａｔ Ａｂｄｕｒｉｘｉｔ ｉｎ Ｓｏｕｔｈ Ａｆｒｉｃａ，Ｌｅｓｏｔｈｏ Ａｎｄ Ｍａｕｒｉｔｉｕｓ

At the invitation of Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini of South Africa， the Foreign Ministry of Lesotho and Abdool Raouf Bundhun， former vice president of Mauritius， Abdul’ahat Abdurixit， vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and president of the Chinese-African People’s Friendship Association (CAPFA)， led a CAPFA delegation to visit the above three countries from November 27 to December 6， 2007. The three countries attached great importance to the delegation’s visit and accorded it high-level reception. The visit enhanced understanding and friendship and promoted cooperation between China and the three countries.

It was CPPCC Vice Chairman Abdul’ahat Abdurixit’s first visit to Africa as leader of a CAPFA delegation since he served as president of the CAPFA. He was the highest Chinese leader to visit Lesotho since the two countries established diplomatic relations. The visit was another milestone in the history of Sino-African friendship particularly in the history of the people-to-people friendship between China and Africa. Vice Chairman Abdul’ahat played his unique role in enhancing the friendship between the governments， parliaments， parties and peoples of the three countries and China， and helping them know more about China’s policies towards ethnic groups and religions and the great cause of China’s reunification.

Vice Chairman Abdul’ahat on separate occasions met withDeputy Speaker Gwendoline Lindiwe Mahlangu-Nkabinde of the National Assembly， Speaker Thembinkosi Willies Mchunu of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial legislature and President Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) of South Africa; King Letsie III， Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili and Acting Foreign Minister Motloheloa Phooko of Lesotho; President Anerood Jugnauth， Vice President Angidi Veeniah Chettiar and former Vice President Abdool Raouf Bundhun of Mauritius.

Vice Chairman Abdul’ahat also met with representatives of the Mauritius-China Friendship Association and the Chinese Business Chamber in Mauritius， gave interviews to the state TV stations of Lesotho and Mauritius， and visited the Chinese-aided projects including the National Convention Centre of Lesotho and the Lesotho Parliament Building under construction.

Mutual Political Trust

When meeting with the leaders of the three countries， Vice Chairman Abdul’ahat briefed them on China’s economic achievements， political system， policy towards ethnic groups and the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Speaking highly of China’s friendship and cooperation with the three countries， he said， China attaches great importance to developing relations with the three countries and cherishes mutual political trust and exchanges and cooperation with them in the economic， cultural and social fields. The Chinese people are always trustworthy friend and partner of the African people， he added.

The leaders of the three countries expressed their warm welcome to Vice Chairman Abdul’ahat’s visit to their countries， spoke highly of their traditional friendship and cooperation with China， admired China’s achievements in economic construction and fully affirmed China’s policy towards Africa. They expressed their confidence in continuous development of Africa-China relations， and wishes to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with China in the fields of democratic politics， economy， trade， culture， etc.， and hope to keep pace with China’s development.

Gwedoline Lindiwe Mah- langue-Nkabinde， deputy speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa， greatly admired China’s system of political consultation. She said， “Political consultation plays an important role in a country’s politics and the participation in the deliberation and administration of state affairs by the political parties not in office and social organizations is an important indicator of social democracy.” She hoped that South Africa and China would strengthen exchanges between governments， parliaments and nongovernmental organizations so as to enhance mutual trust and cooperation. She pointed out， the National Assembly of South Africa unequivocally persists in the policy of “one China”， and South Africa only attends international conferences at which Chinese representatives come from the People’s Republic of China.

Pakalitha Mosisili， prime minister of Lesotho， expressed his gratitude to the Chinese government and people for their consistent aid and support for Lesotho. During his recent vacation in China， he witnessed the Chinese people’s hard work for building up their country. He hoped that the people of Lesotho would learn from the Chinese people and make contributions to the country’s development with their own hands. He also expressed that he welcomes Chinese agricultural experts to come to Lesotho to give technical instruction and train professional personnel to help Lesotho realize self-sufficiency in grain. He firmly believed that China would achieve its complete national reunification and expected that China would soon achieve this goal.

Vice President of Mauritius Chettiar said that he had witnessed the friendly exchanges between the two countries in the past 35 years. The China-aided projects including the Mauritian Airport terminal building， the stadium and the activity centre for the aged， which he participated in signing， have become symbols of friendship between Mauritius and China.Former Mauritian Vice President Abdool Raouf Bundhun， who was recently relieved of his office， visited China last year at the invitation of the CPAFFC. He specially invited the delegation to be guests at his home. He recalled with emotion what he had seen and heard in China and said， the Chinese people treasure friendship and love peace， so when China awakens， the whole world will rejoice at it.

Practical Cooperation

In her meeting with the CAPFA delegation， Mahlan- gu-Nkabinde expressed her admiration of China’s rapid development and said， South Africa， as one of China’s largest trade partners in Africa， benefits from the bilateral economic and trade cooperation. She hoped to solve the problem of imbalance existing in bilateral trade. Vice Chairman Abdul’ahat said， though China is now developing rapidly， it still faces many difficulties and challenges such as imbalance of development among regions， big gap in urban and rural development， environmental protection， etc. China aims at both sound and rapid economic growth. China un- swervingly follows the path of peaceful development and conducts mutually beneficial trade cooperation. He also answered questions on how the Chinese government helps rural migrant workers work in cities， the building of an innovative country and moral education among citizens.

Work to Promote Sino-African Friendship Through

Nongovernmental Channels

During the visit， the Vice Chairman publicized on many occasions the CAPFA’s work and expressed the organiza- tion’s wish of carrying out nongovernmental exchanges and cooperation with the local governments， friendship-with-China organizations and overseas Chinese organizations of the three countries.

Mohammed Asraf Dulull，Mauritian minister of housing and land， spoke highly of the work done by the CAFPA for enhancing friendship among the peoples and said， the exchanges between the people of Mauritius and China play a fundamental role in promoting relations between the two countries.

The members of the Mauritius-China Friendship Association and the Chinese Business Chamber often hold activities to promote friendship with China and have made important contributions to the friendship between the two countries. They expressed their wish to have closer cooperation with the CPAFFC and hoped that their organizations could serve as a platform for Chinese enterprises to enter the African market and a bridge for the overseas Chinese to go to China to study Chinese language， and become an important force in carrying forward the great culture and glorious tradition of the Chinese nation.