Ｆｉｆｔｈ Ｍｅｅｔｉｎｇ ｏｆ Ｃｈｉｎａ－Ｓｐａｉｎ Ｆｏｒｕｍ Ｈｅｌｄ ｉｎ Ｃｈｅｎｇｄｕ

The Fifth Meeting of China-Spain Forum (CSF) was held in Chengdu， Sichuan Province from April 28 to 29. Leading delegates of the Chinese side including Yang Rudai， former vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; Chen Haosu， CPAFFC president; Jiang Jufeng， governor of Sichuan Province; Zheng Silin， vice chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress; Zhen Yan， vice president of the All-China Women’s Federation; Liu Yang， executive vice president of China Law Society; Wei Hong， executive vice governor of Sichuan; Ge Honglin， mayor of Chengdu， and Li Jianping， CPAFFC vice president， and leading delegates of the Spanish side including Bibiana Aido Almagro，minister for equality; Angel Losada Torres-Quevedo， secretary of state for foreign affairs; Carlos Blasco Villa， Spanish ambassador to China; Alfredo Bonet， secretary general for foreign trade of the Ministry for Industry， Tourism and Trade， and Juan Llado， chairman of the Spain China Council Foundation， among more than 350 delegates， attended the meeting.

In view of the current international and domestic situation that countries across the world are all dealing with the economic crisis， this meeting defined its theme as “China and Spain Cooperate to Address the Challenges”， aiming from different angles to study and explore new thinking， new channels and new measures for China and Spain to cooperate in all fields to tide over the economic crisis. On the basis of the previous meetings， this meeting added round-table meetings and meetings on promoting cooperation between Chinese and Spanish enterprises to the agenda.

Round-Table Meetings

According to the agreement reached by the two sides at the working meeting， this meeting successfully introduced the form of round-table meetings. The theme of the first round-table meeting was “China and Spain Address the Current International Crisis: The Common and Individual Challenges They Encounter”. Six delegates， namely， Zheng Silin， vice chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress; Cui Hongjian， director of the Department of EU Studies of the China Institute of International Studies; Cui Yanxin， representative from the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce; Juan Llado， chairman of the Spain China Council Foundation;Manuel Teruel Izquierdo， president of Zaragoza Chamber of Commerce and Industry， and Alicia Herrero， head of the Unit for Emerging Markets of the BBVA Economic Research Department， spoke on measures to deal with the economic crisis. The meeting was presided over by Alfred Bonet. The theme of the second round-table meeting was “2010: New Opportunities for Deepening Cooperation between Chinese and Spanish Cities”. Another six delegates， namely， Ge Honglin， mayor of Chengdu; Xu Bo， director of the Office of Foreign Affairs of Shanghai Expo Bureau; Yang Yang， director general of the Bureau of the China International Small and Medium Enterprises Fair; Javier Conde， president of the State Society for International Exposition of Spain; Ignacio Nino， general coordinator of “Madrid Global”， andJosep Roca， director of International Relations of the City Council of Barcelona， spoke at the meeting， offering opinions and suggestions on new ways and channels for the cooperation between cities of the two countries. The meeting was presided over by CPAFFC President Chen Haosu.

Participants at the meeting welcomed the new form of round-table meetings. They derived inspiration from the delegates’ speeches and discussions which had put forward new thinking on how the two countries respond to the current international economic crisis and deepen exchanges and cooperation between cities and regions.

Sub-Committee Meetings

The Economic， Cultural， Legal Committees， the Committee of Regions and Cities， and the Committee of Equality held separate meetings. The delegates of the two sides reviewed the cooperation carried out after the Madrid Meeting， and discussed the exchange projects to be carried out in the future. Based on the results of the discussions， the sub-committees submitted the conclusive materials to the Secretariat of the Meeting.

Conclusive Document

On the basis of the conclusive materials submitted by the sub-committees and through full consultation， the conclusive document was formed.

The document sums up the fruits achieved in China-Spain cooperation and affirms the positive role played by the CSF in promoting and invigorating exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in various fields. It holds that the CSF is an important mechanism in China-Spain relations and a supplement to the bilateral governmental cooperation， and stresses that both sides are willing to make concerted efforts to push forward the development of China-Spain comprehensive strategic partnership to a higher and deeper level. It highly praises and pays tribute to Hu Qili， chairman of the Forum’s Chinese Committee， and Juan Antonio Samaranch， chairman of the Forum’s Spanish Committee， for their outstanding contribution to the establishment and development of the CSF.It is decided in the conclusive document that from 2009 on the CSF will be held once every two years， that between sessions， if need be， the sub-committees can carry out relevant activities through consultation between the two sides， and that the Secretariats of the two sides will hold regular working meetings according to the needs to implement the forum’s resolutions and promote the cooperation projects.

The Committee of Equality Formerly Formed

Through consultation， the two sides agreed that the subject of gender equality was kept and the Committee of Equality was formed at the CSF Fifth Meeting.

In the discussions， the two sides unanimously held that efforts should be made to alleviate the impact of the international economic crisis on women， eliminate gender violence and include women’s needs and concerns in relevant policies， plans and development projects. The platform of the CSF should be fully used to strengthen exchanges between the two countries in women’s starting business， participation in policy making， safeguarding women’s rights and interests， etc.， and to promote cooperation between women entrepreneurs， law experts， experts on women issues and anti-gender violence workers of the two countries to jointly advance gender equality and social harmony. Bibiana Aido Almagro， Spanish minister for equality， attended the two meetings held by the Committee of Equality on April 28 and 29.