Friendship Activities in Brief

United Nations Public Service Day

The CPAFFC sent a representative to participate in the celebration of the UN Public Service Day held at the UN Headquarters in New York on June 23. Ma Hairong accepted， on behalf of the CPAFFC， the certificate of honour of Excellence Service in Public bestowed upon the CPAFFC by the Friends of the United Nations and on behalf of CPAFFC Vice President Li Xiaolin， a certificate conferred upon the vice president jointly by the World Harmony Foundation， Friends of the United Nations and Mayors for Peace in recognition of her contribution and support of the UN Public Service Day Cultural Performance.

The United Nations designated the Public Service Day with the purpose of recognizing the importance of democratic and effective governance to improving the efficiency of public service of the countries the world over. The United Nations has observed the Public Service Day four times up to this year. It hopes to raise people’s attention to the quality of public service provided by the government of their respective countries.

COFA Vice President Chen Mingde and His Party Visit Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu

Invited by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Papua New Guinea and the Chinese Embassy in Vanuatu， a 9-member delegation consisting of members of the China-Oceania Friendship Association (COFA) and entrepreneurs with Chen Mingde， vice chairman of the Central Committee of the China Democratic National Construction Association and vice president of the COFA， as the leader paid a visit to Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu from July 3 to 10. The delegation had extensive contact with officials of the political and business circles and local Chinese community of the two countries and made an in-depth study of the social and economic situation and the market， which enhanced mutual understanding and laid the foundation for future exchanges and cooperation.

Delegation of Dietmen’s League for Japan-China Friendship Visits China

Invited by the China-Japan Friendship Association (CJFA)， a delegation of young members of the Dietmen’s League for Japan-China Friendship with Yoshimasa Hayashi， member of the Japanese House of Councillors， as the leader visited Beijing， Shenyang and Nanjing from July 4 to 9. State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan met with the delegation. Li Keqiang， secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Li Yuanchao， secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the CPC， exchanged views with the delegation on separate occasions. The delegation had a discussion on Sino-Japanese relations and youth exchange between the two countries with the teachers and students of the China Youth University for Political Sciences.

Reception Marking Fifth Anniversary of Sino-Russian Good-Neighbourly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation

The CPAFFC and the China-Russia Friendship Association (CRFA) gave a reception on the evening of July 14 to mark the 5th anniversary of the signing of the Sino-Russian Good-Neighbourly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation. About 100 people from both China and Russia attended it. Present from the Chinese side were Abdul’ahat Abdurixit， vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; Chen Haosu， president of the CPAFFC and the CRFA; Li Hui， assistant foreign minister; Zhu Yuli， vice chairman of the Environment Protection and Resources Conservation Committee of the National People’s Congress and adviser to the CRFA; Liu Shu， executive vice president of the CRFA; Zhu Jiamu， vice president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the CRFA; Bai Shuxiang， vice president of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the CRFA; Ambassador Wang Fengxiang， vice president of the CRFA; advisers and council members of the CRFA， and representatives of the departments of the central government and social groups. The chief Russian guests included Russian ambassador to China Sergey Razov， minister counsellor of the Russian Embassy Igor Morgulov， Russian trade representative to China Sergey Tsyplakov and other diplomats of the Russian Embassy in China. CPAFFC President Chen Haosu， Assistant Foreign Minister Li Hui and Ambassador Razov spoke at the reception.

Delegation of Austria-China Association of Law Exchanges Visits China

At the invitation of the CPAFFC， the delegation of the Austria-China Association of Law Exchanges (ACALE) headed by Dr. Hannes Jarolim， chairman of the Justice Committee of the Austrian National Council and president of the ACALE， paid a friendly visit to China from July 19 to 29. Members of the delegation included Dr. Harald Bisanz， vice president of the Austrian Law Society and president of the Vienna Lawyers Association， and personages of the Austrian judicial circles. The delegation visited Beijing， Shandong， Shanghai and Suzhou， called on the China Law Society， the All-China Lawyers’ Association and the Institute of Law Science under the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. Through the visit members of the delegation increased their understanding of China and the ACALE established links with relevant organizations in China， creating the basis and channels for exchanges and cooperation in law science and justice between the two countries in the future. (Wang Wei)

China-Latin America Friendship Association Website Launched

The launching ceremony of the China-Latin America Friendship Association (CLAFA) website (www.aachila.com) was jointly held by the CPAFFC and the CLAFA at the Friendship Museum of the CPAFFC on July 24. Cheng Siwei， vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and president of the CLAFA; Luis Guastavino Cordoba， president of the Latin American Organization of Governors; Fernando Reyes Matta， Chilean ambassador to China; Rodrigo Yepez Enriquez， Ecuadorian ambassador to China; and Carlos Bueno Gutierres， representative of the Office of Commercial Development of the Dominican Republic in China， attended the ceremony. CPAFFC Vice President Li Xiaolin said in her speech that the opening of the CLAFA website would serve as a new bridge linking China and Latin America and provide a platform of convenient and quick access for our Latin American friends who want to better understand China and carry out people-to-people friendship work.

Datong Athletes Delegation Participates in International Youth Sports Festival in Bury of U.K.

In late May， a delegation of 40 athletes under the age of 16 from Datong city， China， took part in the Fifteenth International Youth Sports Festival for friendship cities in Bury of Britain. They won 8 gold， 10 silver and 7 bronze medals in the track and field events， swimming， football， basketball and table tennis， and gave performances of gymnastics and martial arts. Over 600 teenage athletes from 8 cities of 7 countries: Britain， China， Germany， France， Italy， Spain and Portugal participated in this sports festival.

Bury is the hub of communications and centre of business and trade of northwest England， which became the friendship city of Datong in 1991. The Datong government delegation， which came to England during the sports festival， met with the leading members of the Greater Manchester International Trade Centre Asia Pacific Development Office and the Sino-British Incubator， and representatives of the Manchester Investment and Development Company and Manchester: Knowledge Capital. The delegation held talks with the Bury Metropolitan Borough Council on promoting exchanges between the two cities in the fields of culture， education and sports and strengthening cooperation in economy， trade， science and technology.

Li Wuzhang， vice mayor of Datong， and Kolin Phisweik， director of the Department of Planning and Economic Development of Bury， signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Developing Economy and Trade and Science and Technology， which set a basis for Datong to expand its opening-up and attract business and investment from Britain and other EU countries through Bury the bridge of friendship. （Ni Yuan）