Speech by CPAFFC President Chen Haosu at the Opening Ceremony

First of all， on behalf of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and China International Friendship Cities Association (CIFCA)， I’d like to express our profound respect to our state leaders present here today， a sincere welcome to the delegates and guests representing various cities in China and other countries around the world， and， finally， cordial greetings and heartfelt thanks to all the friends who have over the years made unremitting efforts to the development of the cause of international friendship cities.

The theme of our conference， “City Cooperation Leads to a Better Life”， is obviously highly relevant the Shanghai World Expo slogan “Better City， Better Life”. While we are using the platform of the Expo to convene our conference， we wish to extend our warm congratulations on the successful， exciting and unforgettable Expo.

We wish to combine the four major aims of China’s people-to-people diplomacy i.e. friendship， cooperation， peace and development with the common desire of mankind i.e. building a harmonious world. On the important occasion of the International Friendship Cities Conference， we can join our friends from different cities， localities and nations to discuss issues facing city development， exchange experience of success， and find solutions to development problems. Making use of the stage of the Shanghai World Expo which reflects global wisdom， focuses international perspectives， and spreads advanced concepts， we also wish to create more exchange and cooperation opportunities for the common development and prosperity of the cities in the world， explore more new areas for the exchange and cooperation between cities， and instill freshness and vitality to the enhancement of understanding and friendship between the people in the cities of all countries.In the course of globalization， local governments and cities of all countries have actively carried out their external contacts， and international friendship-city activities have developed from bilateral cooperation to multilateral collaboration; the cooperation content， meanwhile， has been extended from politics， economy and trade to culture， education， talents， city construction， environment protection， and low carbon economy and so on. Up to the present 21st century， international friendship-city activities have helped ensure the sustained prosperity of city diplomacy， and exerted significant impact on international exchange and cooperation.

China’s international friendship-city work started in 1973. It has received much care and great support from the central government， state leaders and all social circles. With the deepening of China’s reform and opening up， the number of Chinese friendship cities has rapidly increased， and their quality has been improved. So far， China has established 1，717 pairs of friendship-city (province/ state) relations with 126 countries in five continents. Thirty Chinese provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities， and 369 cities have participated in the movement. Their external counterparts include 394 provinces， states， regions and prefectures and 1，216 cities. International friendship-city activities have become the principal channel for Chinese localities and cities to have exchange with other countries and the main content of city diplomacy with Chinese characteristics. It is playing an irreplaceable role in our socialist modernization drive.

Ladies and gentlemen， dear friends，

Cities in all countries and regions are the center of economy， politics， culture， education， science and technology， and， on the whole， they give expression to the State’s comprehensive strength and global competitiveness. Along with industrialization and urbanization， 50 percent of world’s total population now lives in cities. This figure is predicted to climb to 70 percent by the end of 2050. The rate of urbanization in China has already exceeded the world average. This means that， in China alone， urban population growth will reach 10 million to 12 million per year. While the cities are enabling people to enjoy good life， they also give rise to many serious problems and challenges such as population growth， traffic congestion， environment pollution， climate change， resources scarcity， urban poverty， cultural friction， employment difficulty， etc. To realize city harmony and sustainable growth has become a prominent and urgent issue facing all nations. It is， therefore， especially important to strengthen cooperation between cities， to blaze new fields for cooperation， learn from each other successful experience in city construction， explore new road for city development and enhance the city development sustainability.

On the basis of “stressing friendship， stressing practical results and stressing mutual benefit”， we wish to promote the exchange and cooperation in economic， political， cultural and social fields so as to enhance people’s friendship， safeguard world peace， and advance common development.

The successful convening of the Shanghai World Expo proves to the people of the whole world the fact that city is playing a remarkable role in boosting the progress of civilization. The development of cities is the driving force of social progress， and city cooperation is a major stage of international cooperation. In the new century， international friendship cities have formed a large family of mutual respect， mutual benefit and win-win， and permeated with affection and love. Let us join hands and strive for the realization of the grand goal of the friendship cities cause， and work even harder to build a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity. Let us share the success and glory of the Shanghai World Expo， and welcome better life and bright future.