Activities of China-Russia People-to-People Friendship Month Held

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia and the founding of the China-Russia Friendship Association (CRFA)， the CPAFFC and CRFA designated September 2009 as the China-Russia People-to-People Friendship Month， during which they organized a series of activities including a reception in celebration of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Russia and the founding of the CRFA， a forum on China-Russia relations， a photo exhibition on China-Russia traditional friendly relations， a stamp exhibition and a concert of Chinese and Russian songs.

Jia Qinglin， chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)， attended the reception in celebration of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations held at the Great Hall of the People and spoke on the occasion. Hua Jianmin， vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and chairman of the Chinese side of the Sino-Russian Committee of Friendship， Peace and Development; Bai Lichen， vice chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC; Wang Guangya， vice foreign minister; Chen Haosu， CPAFFC and CRFA president; Sergei Razov， Russian ambassador to China; and Mikhail Titarenko， president of the Russia-China Friendship Association (RCFA)， among about 280 Chinese and Russian representatives of various circles of the two countries attended thereception.

In his meeting with Mikhail Titarenko， president of the RCFA， and S.L. Tikhvinsky， honorary president of the RCFA， CPPCC Chairman Jia Qinglin congratulated Titanrenko on receiving the “Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Sixty Years of China-Russia Relations” issued personally by President Hu Jintao. Jia said， since this year， the Sino-Russian strategic partnership of coordination has maintained a momentum of all-round fast development， and high-level contacts have been frequent. Particularly， President Hu’s successful visit to Russia in the first half of this year has injected new vigour into promoting bilateral pragmatic cooperation in various areas. For a long time， China and Russia have firmly supported each other on the issues concerning the core interests of the two countries such as the Taiwan and the Tibet questions， the eastward expansion of NATO， etc.， and closely coordinated on such important international and regional issues as the DPRK nuclear issue， the Iranian nuclear issue， and the Afghanistan problems. The two countries have carried out smooth pragmatic cooperation in various areas and increased their cooperation in social and cultural fields. The idea of “maintaining China-Russia friendship from generation to generation” has gone deeper into the minds of the people of the two countries.

In his important speech at the reception， Jia Qinglin said， the current China-Russia relations are at the best period in history. High-level exchanges between the two countries have become increasingly frequent; political mutual trust has reached an unprecedented high level and bilateral pragmatic cooperation in various fields has become more mature and strategic coordination closer. China-Russia relations have become one of the most dynamic and influential bilateral relationships in the world， which has not only brought enormous benefits to the people of the two countries， but also effectively promoted world peace and development. The CRFA and the RCFA are active participants and important pushers of the cause of friendship between China and Russia and have made great contributions to promoting the strategic partnership of coordination between China and Russia.

Russian Ambassador Sergei Razov， CPAFFC President Chen Haosu and RCFA President Titarenko spoke at the reception， highly praising the development of the cause of friendship between China and Russia and between the people of the two countries and enthusiastically expecting brighter prospects of the cause.

At the “Inherit the Past and Forge Ahead into the FutureForum on the Sixty Years of China-Russia Relations”， speakers reviewed the extraordinary course of the development of China-Russia relations in the past 60 years and through summing up historical experience fully affirmed the current development of China-Russia relations， evaluated the trend of development of the relationship in future， and deeply explored the people-to-people diplomacy between the two countries under the new situation.