President Xi Jinping Confers “Five Principles Of Peaceful Coexistence Friendship Award” on Indian Friendship Groups and Individuals

n September 19， 2014 during a state visit to India， President Xi Jinping attended a ceremony held by the CPAFFC in New Delhi to confer the “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence Friendship Award” on various recipients.

The year of 2014 marks the 60th anniversary of the enunciation of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence， namely， mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity， mutual non-aggression， non-interference in each other’s internal affairs， equality and mutual benefit， and peaceful coexistence.

On June 28， at a commemorative meeting in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing， President Xi delivered a keynote speech entitled Carry Forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence to Build a Better World Through Win-Win Cooperation and announced the Chinese Government’s decision to establish the “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence Friendship Award”.

This is designed to recognize the commitment and contribution made by groups and individuals to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and encourage more people to join this noble cause for promoting the establishment of a new type of international relations featuring equality， mutual trust， inclusiveness， mutual learning and win-win cooperation.

The first group of the awards went to the family of Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis， a doctor of the Indian Aid-China Medical Mission and an internationalist fighter； the Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis Memorial Committee； the Cheena Bhavana （Department of Chinese Language and Culture） of the Visva-Bharati； the India-China Friendship Association； Dr. Jyoti Mohapatra， Secretary General of the Friends of China Society； and Dr. Mohan Reddy， Secretary General of the Andhra Pradesh Chapter of the India-China Friendship Association.

President Xi congratulated all on becoming the first recipients.

In his speech he said the Five Principles， as the crystallization of the joint wisdom of the older generation of Chinese， Indian and Myanmar leaders， had become an important norm governing international relations and played a significant role in promoting the establishment of a just and equitable international order.

He spoke highly of the exemplary role of the award recipients in carrying forward this spirit and their contribution to China-India friendship. He hoped more personages of insight would join this cause so that the concept of China-India friendship would be deep-rooted in the two peoples and bear rich fruits.

He expressed the belief that， through the unremitting efforts of various generations， China and India would surely enjoy lasting friendship and realize their dreams of great national rejuvenation.

President Xi recalled the touching stories of Dr. Kotnis， Rabindranath Tagore and other Indian friends and stressed that their persistent pursuit of and selfless dedication to China-India friendship were really admirable.

“China and India are ancient civilizations that have enjoyed friendly contacts over thousands of years， two important neighbors that have helped each other in realizing national independence， two big developing countries that together initiated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence， and two great nations that have been dedicated to the goal of national development and people’s prosperity. It is a great and noble cause to carry forward this friendship， which contributes much today and benefits the future.”

President Xi emphasized that the aim of his visit to India was to carry forward friendship and promote cooperation. He made it clear to the Indian leadership and people of all fields that China hoped the two peoples would be eternal friends and partners for common development on the path to national rejuvenation.

Dr. Avijit Banerjee， Dean of the Cheena Bhavana， spoke on behalf of all recipients. He introduced its founding by Tagore， and its long-time dedication to India-China friendly exchanges. He thanked President Xi for conferring the Friendship Awards and expressed willingness to continue making contributions to India-China friendship.

The wheelchair-bound Manorama Kotnis， 93， younger sister of the late Dr. Kotnis， came to New Delhi from Mumbai especially for the event. She thanked President Xi for taking time from his busy schedule to meet them and said her family found it very touching that the Chinese government and people still think of Dr. Kotnis. The Kotnis family would carry on the doctor’s spirit and contribute more to the India-China friendship cause， she added.

Li Xiaolin， President of the CPAFFC， presided over the award ceremony.

On the afternoon of September 18， she met recipients and had discussions with them on strengthening Sino-Indian people-to-people exchanges. She highly praised their contributions to the enhancement of mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples and called them good friends of the Chinese people.

When talking about President Xi’s conferring of the Friendship Award， Li said that this showed the Chinese Government’s willingness to enhance exchanges and friendship with India on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.

“People-to-people exchange constitutes an important part of bilateral relations. Over the past few years， friendship organizations of both countries have organized a series of activities of great significance and played a positive role in promoting mutual understanding and trust and consolidating friendship.”

There were many touching stories in the 2，000-year contacts between China and India， showing their long history of friendly exchanges. Being the most populous countries in the world， their friendly cooperation had wide significance.

Li pledged the CPAFFC would continue to work with Indian partners and friends to enhance China-India friendship for further growth of bilateral relations.