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At the invitation of the India Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR)， Jiang Zhenghua， president of the China-India Friendship Association (CIFA) and former vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress， led a CIFA delegation to visit India from December 2 to 8， 2008. Jing Dunquan， CPAFFC vice president， and Cheng Hong， CIFA vice president and deputy editor-in-chief of the China Central Television (CCTV)， were in company with CIFA President Jiang Zhenghua on the visit.

Enhancing China-India Friendship

On the eve of the delegation’s departure， Mumbai was hit by outrageous terrorist attacks. The delegation still visited India as scheduled， which was highly praised by the Indian side. The delegation was accorded warm welcome wherever it went. Dr. Karan Singh， president of the ICCR， and Veeranna Mathikatti， chairman of the Karnataka Legislative Council， met with the delegation. In his meetings with Dr. Singh and Mr. Mathikatti， CIFA President Jiang Zhenghua spoke highly of the friendship and cooperation between China and India. He said， China attaches great importance to cooperation with India in various areas. Jiang expressed his appreciation of the consistent support rendered by the Indian Government and people to China， particularly their selfless aid to China after the Wenchuan earthquake， which reflects fraternal affection between the Chinese and Indian people and lofty spirit of the Indian Aid-China Medical Mission. Jiang strongly condemned the terrorist attacks on Mumbai and expressed his sincere solicitude for the victims and their family members.

ICCR President Singh reviewed the history of friendly exchanges between India and China over the past thousands of years. The friendly exchanges between the two peoples from Bodhidharma and Xuan Zang in ancient times to the Indian Aid-China Medical Mission in modern times and to the present China-India Joint Medical Mission demonstrate the profound friendship between the two countries. He said， under the current trend of globalization， the two countries， as emerging developing countries， are important forces to promote the development of Asia and the whole world as well. He expressed his thanks to the Chinese people for their sympathy and support when Mumbai suffered terrorist attacks， and his appreciation of the Chinese delegation’s visit to India as scheduled when many other delegations either postponed or cancelled their visits to the country. He hoped that India and China would cooperate in fighting terrorist forces.

Chairman Mathikatti expressed his admiration for the achievements China had made in its economic construction， particularly the rapid development of infrastructure， and his congratulations on China’s successful holding of the Beijing Olympic Games， saying that it was a high-level sports meet， a milestone in the history of the Olympic Games and the fruit of the Chinese people’s hard work and wisdom. He said， Karnataka State attaches importance to mutually beneficial cooperation with Chinese provinces and cities. Since Karnataka State and Jiangsu Province signed a memorandum on friendly cooperation five years ago， the two sides have carried out smooth exchanges in various fields. In recent years， the leaders of the Legislative Council and Government of Karnataka State have led delegations to visit China several times to learn about the country’s industrial and agricultural development. Karnataka State will continue to carry out exchanges with China in the future， and is planning to send a 1，000-member farmers’ delegation to China to study its experience in the near future.

Commemorating the Indian Aid-China

Medical Mission

In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the arrival in China of the Indian Aid-China Medical Mission， the China-India Joint Medical Mission (CIJMM) was set up under the initiation of the CPAFFC and the ICCR. It gives free medical treatment and medicine to people in the poor areas of both countries every year. In January 2008， the CIJMM consisting of ten Indian doctors who had arrived in Beijing in company with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and ten Chinese doctors went to Shijiazhuang of Hebei Province to give free medical treatment. This time， ten Chinese doctors came together with CIFA President Jiang Zhenghua to take part in the CIJMM’s activities in India.

On the evening of December 2， the inauguration of the CIJMM’s activities in India was held in New Delhi.Jiang Zhenghua， CIFA president;Zhang Yan， Chinese ambassador to India; Karan Singh， president of the ICCR; and the joint secretary of the Indian Ministry of Health， among more than 100 people from various circles and the major press of the two countries， attended the inauguration and spoke on the occasion.

In his speech， Jiang Zhenghua said the Indian Aid-China Medical Mission has become a symbol of friendship between China and India. Today the CIJMM which carries forward the spirit of the Indian Aid-China Medical Mission reflects the efforts made by the leaders of the two countries to strengthen bilateral relations and helps enhance friendship between the two peoples.

ICCR President Singh said， the visit to India by the Chinese doctors will enable them to get more knowledge about India’s medical system in its urban and rural areas， strengthen cooperation in the medical field between the two countries and draw people’s attention to the disadvantaged groups in the two countries. Though the Joint Medical Mission may achieve limited practical results in providing medical services， it has a great symbolic significance. It is here today that we prove to the people of the world that India and China can cooperate with each other in various fields and the friendly relations between the two countries will contribute to the development of the world. The small step that we have taken today is a big step in the history of the development of India-China friendly relations.

At the venue of the inauguration， a Photo Exhibition Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Arrival in China of the Indian Aid-China Medical Mission was held at the same time. The over 20 groups of photos showing the great humanitarian spirit of the Indian Aid-China Medical Mission and the activities of the CIJMM held in China to give free medical treatment vividly reflected the brotherly affection between the Chinese and Indian peoples. The exhibition was well received by the visitors.

Supporting China’s Policy on Tibet

During the delegation’s stay in India， the India-China Friendship Association (ICFA)， Karnataka held a meeting to welcome the delegation. At the meeting Bhaskaran Valiyara， secretary general of the ICFA， Karnataka and V. T. Rajashekar， its former president， condemned the anti-China separatist activities carried out by the forces for “Tibet independence” in India and gave their resolute support to China’s stance on the Tibet issue. Bhaskaran Valiyara said， the ICFA consistently opposes the anti-China separatist activities in any form carried out by the Dalai Lama on the Indian territory and protests against the Indian government giving the Dalai Lama political rights. Rajashekar said， the Indian government’s equivocal attitude towards Tibet is a huge hindrance to the development of sincere friendship between India and China.

Promoting Cooperation Between

China and India

At the working meeting with ICCR President Singh， CIFA President Jiang Zhenghua expressed his satisfaction with the cooperation project—the “China-India Joint Medical Mission” —carried out by the two organizations. He expressed the hope that the two organizations would continue this project in the coming year. Jiang also gave a brief account of the Sino-Indian University Students Forum to be held by the CIFA in 2009 and hoped to receive cooperation from the ICCR.

The delegation held talks with the leading members of Friends of China Association， Punjab. The two sides agreed to jointly organize the Asian-European Youth Summer Camp and exchange youth delegations in 2009. In its discussions with the ICFA， Karnataka， the two sides agreed that they would continue to organize delegations to visit each other’s country in the coming year.

With the further rise of China and India as emerging economies， the similarities and complementarities between them bring numerous opportunities for cooperation. In his meetings with Indian friends， CIFA President Jiang said many times that the CIFA would serve as a tie between people of various circles of the two countries， and a bridge for cooperation between China and India.