Ｂｕｉｌｄｉｎｇ Ｂｒｉｄｇｅ ｏｆ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ Ｂｅｔｗｅｅｎ Ｃｈｉｎｅｓｅ ａｎｄ Ａｒａｂ Ｐｅｏｐｌｅｓ

Ancient City Welcoming Guests from Afar

From October 28 to 30， 2008， Damascus， capital of Syria and a Western Asian city known as “the living ancient city in the world”， “the fragrant city” and “the Pearl of the Orient”， opened its arms to welcome friendship envoys from afar—the Chinese Delegation for China-Arab Friendship. The 110 Chinese friendship envoys， together with friends of the League of Arab States (LAS) and the 18 delegations of Arab friendship-with-China organizations， attended the second China-Arab Friendship Conference (CAFC) which was co-sponsored by the China-Arab Friendship Association (CAFA) and the LAS and hosted by the Syria-China Friendship Association (SCFA). Friends old and new happily gathered together talking about the traditional friendship between China and Arab countries and important plans for future friendship with the aim of building a bridge of friendship between the Chinese and Arab peoples and further popularize the spirit of peace， friendship and cooperation.

At the opening ceremony， messages of congratulations from Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi， LAS Secretary General Amre M. Moussa and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem were read out， and Mohammed Saeid Bekheitan， deputy secretary of the Regional Leadership of the Baath Arab Socialist Party and president of the SCFA; Ahmed Abdel-Rahman Mohamed， secretary general of the Federation of Arab-China Friendship Associations; Tomur Dawamat， president of the CAFA; Sima Bahous， assistant secretary general of the LAS， made speeches. They affirmed and highly appraised the important role people-to-people friendship work had played in enhancing traditional friendship and promoting political， economic and trade， cultural， educational and local government exchanges and cooperation between China and Arab countries since the first conference， and placed high hopes on its future development.

Orientation of Work Set

During the conference， the participating parties reached consensus on further expanding the scope of cooperation between the people-to-people friendship organizations of China and Arab countries and bringing into play the advantages of nongovernmental diplomacy to promote exchanges and cooperation in the political， economic and trade， cultural， educational， local government and other areas by organizing impact-producing activities. A press communiqué adopted at the conference included events to be held in China in 2009 such as the meeting of the heads of Arab friendship-with-China organizations， the conference of China-Arab friendship cities and local governments， receptions marking anniversaries of diplomatic ties between China and Arab countries， economic and trade talks， academic seminars， inviting a press delegation organized by the Arab side to visit China and choosing through public appraisal outstanding figures for China-Arab Friendship Award. It called on the governments and their agencies of these countries to attach more importance and gave greater support to people-to-people friendship work. The conference adopted the action plan of people-to-people cooperation between China and the Arab countries for 2008-2010， setting the direction of China-Arab friendship work and putting forth concrete exchange programmes for the coming two years.

Bridging Role

The conference served as a platform for the Chinese local governments， scholars and people of the business circles to establish links and communicate with their Arab counterparts. During the conference， local government representatives on the Chinese delegation got to know local government officials of Arab countries and discussed with them the promotion of local government exchanges. The scholars on the delegation visited the Syrian Baath Party Research Centre and Damascus University， exchanged opinions with the scholars there on how to further China-Arab relations and agreed on university-to-university programmes such as exchanging visiting scholars and publications， jointly conducting scientific researches and holding seminars. The entrepreneurs held business talks with their Arab colleagues and reached intent on cooperation in many areas including Muslim food， air-conditioner and building material， information technology and construction projects. All the members of the Chinese delegation held that they had benefited a lot from this conference. They not only experienced the deep feelings of the Arab people for the Chinese people and their ardent expectations. At the same time， they realized the importance of people-to-people friendship work and its irreplaceable role in making friends for the country and serving as a bridge between various social circles of China and their counterparts in other countries.

Adding Colour to CACF

The China-Arab Friendship Conference is one of the mechanisms within the framework of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum (CACF) and an item of activity included in the Forum’s Action Plan for 2008 to 2010. The first CAFC which was held in Khartoum， the Sudan in November 2006 announced the establishment of the Federation of Arab-China Friendship Associations (FACFA). The FACFA existed only in name for it did not have a working team. At this second conference major progress was made in building up the CAFC mechanism. Firstly， the conference adopted the Statutes of the FACFA and elected a 10-member Executive Committee according to the Statutes. Putting in place the organizational structure of the FACFA signaled the formal inception of the federation， thus perfecting the mechanism of the conference organizational wise. Secondly， the CAFC Follow-up Action Committee composed of five parties—China， the LAS， the Sudan， Syria and the FACFA was set up. It is in charge of checking up the implementation of the resolutions passed at the conference， supervising over the execution of the Action Plan by friendship associations of the participating countries， and assisting the FACFA to provide guidance to the friendship associations in their friendship-with-China activities. The setting up of the Committee has further perfected the mechanism of the conference. The improvement of the conference mechanism and the new ways it has adopted added colour to the CACF.

Ancient Music in Praise of Friendship

To enhance China-Arab cultural exchanges and add a lively atmosphere to the conference， a 44-member Xinjiang Mukamu Art Troupe went to Syria as part of the Chinese delegation. During the conference， the art troupe and the Syria Inanna Art Troupe staged a joint performance. The artists of the two countries presented an art feast to the participants of the second China-Arab Friendship Conference and the local people， praising the traditional China-Arab friendship in their unique way and expressing their aspiration for better China-Arab friendly relations in the future.

Mukamu， known as the Pearl of Oriental Music， is the refined classic music of the Xinjiang Uighur ethnic minority group. It was approved by UNESCO as oral and intangible cultural heritage of mankind on November 25， 2005.