Retrospective on a Brilliant Chapter of Non-Governmental Diplomacy Between China and Latin America

On March 16， 1960， the China-Latin America and the Caribbean Friendship Association (CLACFA) jointly launched by the Chinese People’s Association for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries and 14 other people’s organizations was founded. As we now celebrate the 50th anniversary， I would like to reflect on the past as a person who had the opportunity to participate in this exciting and magnificent chapter of history and witness the glorious progress of China-Latin America friendship from a mere trickle of people-to-people diplomacy to the torrential flow of today. So many memories and emotions emerge as a result.

People-to-People Diplomacy Pioneered Under the Instructions of Great Leaders

Contacts between the people of China and Latin America can be traced back to distant times， but only after the founding of New China in 1949 were they able to enter a period of profound development. However， the road was not a smooth one. In the early years， we were faced with a very complicated and difficult situation in developing relations with other countries， particularly those in Latin America regarded as being in the “backyard” of the United States. But， Chairman Mao Zedong showed great foresight adopting a view of global interests to put forward the principle of uniting with those nations anywhere willing to treat us as equals and with the people around the world loving peace and freedom. On this basis， we could restore and develop all forms of exchanges conducive to consolidation of the fruits of revolutionary victory， growth of production， economic prosperity and safeguarding world peace. Under Chairman Mao’s guidance of making a correct assessment of the situation， we surmounted obstacles such as political isolation， economic blockade and military threat imposed by the United States and other Western countries and the “people-to-people diplomacy” between China and Latin America saw vigorous development.

In September 1950， Hugo Batalla， who later served as Uruguayan Vice President in 1996， accompanied a group of progressive young Latin Americans on a visit to take part in the celebrations of the first anniversary of the founding of the PRC. He once told me with feeling about Chairman Mao’s talk with them. You are not afraid of blockade against China imposed by the West headed by the United States， he told them. You disregarded their attacks and slanders against New China， and even less feared being blacklisted by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and at last you have come here after surmounting all obstacles. You should be called heroes who “forced five passes and slew six captains” !* It is thus evident that no one is able to resist the strength of people’s solidarity! You are the pioneers of friendly exchanges between the people of Latin America and China. We appreciate your deep friendly sentiments towards the Chinese people. On hearing what Chairman Mao had said， everyone present became very excited and the meeting hall burst into warm applause. Batalla said with emotion that this historical moment recorded the touching scene of irresistible friendly exchanges between the Chinese and Latin American people， and that he would never forget Chairman Mao’s breadth of vision.

New Bridges for China-Latin America Friendship Built

Subsequent facts proved the correctness of his prediction. In those years in Latin America， there emerged a number of pioneers who were friendly to China. With friendly sentiments of sympathizing and supporting the Chinese revolution and strong desire to enhance understanding of New China they established friendship-with-China associations and carried out friendly and cultural exchanges. Personages friendly to China including noted figures of various circles such as Salvador Allende， who later became Chile’s president， and former Mexican President Lazaro Cardenas， overcame numerous difficulties and obstacles and visited China one after another to deepen friendly ties.

At the same time， the Chinese people also sent their envoys to visit Latin America many times. Among them there were delegations from cultural， art， business and press circles and trade unions， youth and women’s organizations. All such activities built a new bridge linking the Chinese and Latin American people across the Pacific Ocean.

Close Neighbors Separated Only by the Ocean

Entering the 1960s， along with China’s rising international status and Latin American people’s stronger desire for friendly ties， contacts and cultural and trade exchanges expanded rapidly. Chairman Mao Zedong， Premier Zhou Enlai， President Liu Shaoqi， and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Zhu De often met with representatives of various Latin American circles， greatly promoting development of people-to-people exchanges and state-to-state relations. I still clearly remember the significant remarks made by Premier Zhou during his meeting with several Latin American delegations. He said: China and Latin America should be considered close neighbors of being separated by a mere pool of water—the Pacific Ocean. An ancient Chinese saying declares: “A bosom friend afar brings a distant land near.” We and Latin America are the best neighbors and friends only separated by a single ocean. So， I hope that we will make concerted efforts to turn the ocean into a really pacific one to bring the peace essential for world progress and human happiness. Premier Zhou’s remarks reflected the common aspiration of the Chinese and Latin American people and later became classic famous sayings often quoted by Latin American friends.

Promoting Governmental Relations Through People-to-People Contacts

In view of various factors hindering development of China-Latin America relations at that time， Chairman Mao， Premier Zhou and other leaders put forward the guiding principle of making steady progress on a long-term basis， carrying out both governmental and non- governmental diplomacy and promoting governmental relations through people-to-people contacts. In a meeting with a Latin American journalist， Chairman Mao said explicitly: We welcome Latin American countries to establish diplomatic relations with China. We welcome Latin American countries to do business with us even if they don’t establish diplomatic relations. We welcome Latin American countries to keep general contacts with us even if they do not do business with us. This guiding principle of “promoting governmental relations through people-to-people contacts” pushed the friendly contacts between the people of China and Latin America to a new stage.

Guillermo del Pedregal，former Chilean Minister of the Interior and a former Vice President， always maintained that Chile should develop friendly relations with China. When Chairman Mao， President Liu Shaoqi and Premier Zhou met with him， he said that， to develop relations， the two countries could start with bilateral trade and let the Chilean people see the actual fruits achieved by developing relations with China. When conditions were ripe， the two countries could then discuss establishing diplomatic relations. Our leaders agreed with and appreciated his idea and called it a good method of “kai gou wa qu (digging ditches)” and eventually “shui dao qu cheng (a canal is formed when water comes)”. Hearing this， Pedregal was very glad and said he had made up his mind to “dig ditches” and was determined to see the day of “shui dao qu cheng” when the two countries at last established diplomatic relations.

Later， people-to-people friendly contacts and business and trade relations between China and Chile developed continuously. The two countries formally established diplomatic relations in 1970. So， Pedregal’s wish was realized.

An “All-Weather” Friend.

Danillo Santos is an “all- weather” old friend of the China- Latin America Friendship Asso- ciation. Since serving as a lawyer to the Chinese delegation sent to participate in the Rio de Janeiro’s International Exposition in 1963， he has thrown all his energy into the friendly exchange between Brazil and China and forged deep friendship with the Chinese people.

Over the past more than 40 years， he has made painstaking efforts to develop bilateral friendship. Through various ups and downs， he has always worked hard to safeguard and promote the friendship between the people of the two countries.

On November 22， 2003， a CLACFA delegation visited Brazil. Cheng Siwei， then Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and President of the CLACFA， personally conferred the China-Latin America Friendship Medal upon Mr. Santos in recognition of his outstanding contributions to enhancing mutual understanding and friendship. He， in turn， gave an emotional speech at the conferring ceremony， in which he declared: “By learning the spirit of utter devotion to others without any thought of self advocated by Chairman Mao in his article Serve the People and following the example of the hard struggle of The Foolish Old Man who Removed the Mountains， we at last broke through the solid ice and greeted the spring of Brazil-China relations. I have great respect for Mao Zedong， Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping. It is they who changed China from a poor and backward country into a strong and prosperous one. Now， Brazil-China friendship and economic and trade cooperation are developing rapidly. I firmly believe that on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence， the friendship mansion built by the two largest developing countries in the world will forever stand on the planet.”

Jointly Creating the Future of China-Latin America Friendship

In the past 50 years since its founding， the CLACFA has done much work in receiving Latin American personages of various circles， mutually sending cultural and art delegations and conducting economic and trade exchanges and cooperation. It has also carried out activities in extensive areas such as publicizing China’s long-standing history， unique culture， policy of reform and opening up， and achievements in its socialist construction to Latin American countries， commemorating Latin American national heroes and cultural celebrities， introducing the fine cultural heritage of Latin American countries and supporting the just struggle of Latin American people for safeguarding national independence and national sovereignty. The CLACFA has become a large stage to carry out multi-level friendly cooperation and exchanges. China-Latin America relations， after experiencing various ups and downs during the past half century， are now developing rapidly and vigorously. Let us join hands together to create a more brilliant future.

Fifty years have passed. These unforgettable fine memories encourage me to continue to work for the friendship between China and Latin America. When I look at the vast starlit sky， many thoughts flash through my mind: Is the deep friendship between China and Latin America like the stars that shine forever in an infinite space and time?

The author once served as deputy director general of the Department of American and Oceanian Affairs of the CPAFFC， secretary general of the CLACFA and Chinese ambassador to Bolivia and Uruguay.