Ｄｅｌｅｇａｔｉｏｎ ｏｆ Ｆｅｄｅｒａｔｉｏｎ ｏｆ Ｆｒｅｎｃｈ－Ｃｈｉｎｅｓｅ Ａｓｓｏｃｉａｔｉｏｎｓ Ｖｉｓｉｔｓ Ｃｈｉｎａ

At the invitation of the CPAFFC， a delegation of the Federation of French-Chinese Associations (FFCA) paid a visit to China from October 29 to November 5， 2008 with the aim of having talks with the relevant Chinese departments to know about the formulation and implementation of the policies on China’s urban planning and protection of cultural heritage in the process of modernization.

The FFCA is France’s largest friendship-with-China nongovernmental organization having over 20 branches throughout the country. Since its founding in the 1990s， by holding lectures， cultural and art exhibitions and performances， Chinese language teaching and study on specific subjects， the FFCA has done many useful work for enhancing understanding and friendship between the French and Chinese people. It is CPAFFC’s important cooperative partner in France and the two organizations have carried out mutual visits and exchanges for many years.

The delegation visited Shanghai， Guangzhou and Beijing.

In his meeting with the delegation， CPAFFC Vice President Li Jianping expressed his thanks to the FFCA for the contributions it had made since its founding to enhancing mutual understanding and friendship between the people of the two countries. Li said， it is particularly commendable that friends of the FFCA often come out boldly when the relations between the two countries meet difficulties， and on different occasions objectively publicize China’s policies so as to dispel misunderstanding. FFCA President Alain Labat said， to China the year 2008 is a very special year in which China suffered rare natural disasters but successfully held the Beijing Olympic Games. The two events have changed the French people’s negative views of China resulting from the media’s misguiding. The French people greatly admired the Chinese people’s spirit of uniting as one to fight against natural disasters after the Wenchuan earthquake and perfect organization of the Beijing Olympic Games and excellent performances of the Chinese athletes in the Games. The disruption that the Olympic torch relay met in Paris does not represent the will of the broad masses of the French people. It is， of course， not a one day’s job to clear the destructive effect and bad influence made by the media， the FFCA will as always work hard to push forward France-China friendship. Alain Caporossi， secretary general of the FFCA， on behalf of the Federation， donated 380 euro in cash to the Sichuan earthquake-hit areas and asked the CPAFFC to pass on this donation to the disaster areas. So far， the FFCA has donated altogether 21，445 euro including 4，000 euro in the form of transfer made in October and donations through other channels to the Sichuan earthquake-hit areas. CPAFFC Vice President Li Jianping extended his thanks for the donation and said that the CPAFFC would pass on the donation via the Sichuan Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries to the victims of the earthquake as soon as possible.

Cai Fangbai， the former Chinese ambassador to France had a talk with the French guests on the history， present situation and development of China-France relationship. Ambassador Cai said， the reason why there was such a big contrast in the China-France relationship before and after the France-China Culture Year lies in that the French people have lacked knowledge about China for a long time. In recent years France has encountered many problems such as lots of state capital transferred to Asia， rise of unemployment， etc. The media have chosen to shift the cause of economic crisis onto China; as a result， the ordinary people have been misguided by the media as they had no other sources to get objective information. There were bubbles of demonizing China in France， bringing China-France relationship to an impasse. Because China successfully held the Beijing Olympic Games， and in addition， various countries in the world need to cooperate with China to tide over the global economic crisis， the media have lowered their noises of opposing China. Ambassador Cai stressed that only by handling the China-France relationship from the strategic perspective， can it be maintained and developed.

The delegation paid an official call on the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage and had discussions on Beijing’s modernization drive and protection of cultural heritage with the leading officials of the Administration who gave a detailed briefing about the policies and measures on protection of cultural heritage adopted by China， particularly Beijing， in urban planning. Alain Caporossi said， Western media wantonly criticize China for its rapid development built on blind expansion of construction disregarding protection of cultural heritage. The valuable and convincing information provided by the Administration can help the delegation after returning home publicize China’s policy on the protection of cultural heritage to the French people and check the media’s biased propaganda so that the French people can have a true picture of China’s present situation.

During its stay in Shanghai and Guangzhou， the delegation visited the Shanghai Global Financial Centre， the Shanghai World Expo Site， the Dongtan eco-city on the Chongming Island， and the Guangzhou Pearl River New City， and paid an official call on the Bureau of Urban Planning of Guangzhou Municipality. Through the visit， the delegation not only fully appreciated the modern architecture of China’s international metropolises， but also got some knowledge about China’s increasingly mature and developing concepts of architecture and urban planning.

The French guests said， China’s successful holding of the Beijing Olympic Games has made the world recognize China’s strength and influence. Now， China is paying more attention to the basic concepts and local cultures and trying to find China’s own path of urban development from the models of the times. The construction plan of the eco-city on the Chongming Island and the 2020 urban planning blueprint of Guangzhou both indicate that China is striving to build an eco-society featuring the coordination of housing， industries and environment， and paying attention to the distribution of forces of production and market impact. These thoughtful considerations and adoption of policies under the condition of rapid development have amazed the European countries while feeling fully confident in China’s future.

During the visit， the FFCA delegation got a deep understanding of China’s policies and practices on urban planning and protection of cultural heritage， which will play a positive role in publicizing China’s actual situation of development to the French people and enhancing understanding and friendship between the people of the two countries.