CPAFFC President Lin Songtian attends the 13th Plenary Session of the China Russia Friendship Committee for Peace and Development and 2021 Plenary Session on the Chinese Side

Zhang Dengyu

O n Dec 28， the 13th Plenary Session of the China-Russia Friendship Committee for Peace and Development and 2021 Plenary Session on the Chinese Side were held via video link. Xia Baolong， vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee and chairman of the Committee on the Chinese side， and Boris Yurievich Titov， chairman of the Committee on the Russian side， attended the activity and delivered speeches.

Lin Songtian， president of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， also attended and delivered a speech as chairman of the Committee’s Council of Friends on the Chinese side.

At the 13th Plenary Session of the China-Russia Friendship Committee for Peace and Development， Xia stressed that under the strategic guidance of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin， the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era has maintained a sound momentum of development. As a primary channel for people-to-people exchanges between China and Russia， the committee should have a stronger sense of mission and responsibility， carry out people-to-people diplomacy and contribute to the continuation of ChinaRussia friendship from generation to generation and sustained development of bilateral relations.

At the Plenary Session on the Chinese Side， Xia noted that in 2022 the Committee will take its 25th anniversary as a new starting point， adopt a more responsible and innovative approach to its work and do more practical things. It will continue to tell the Chinese story and the China-Russia friendship story well， demonstrate the vitality of peopleto-people exchanges and further consolidate popular support for ChinaRussia friendship from generation to generation.

In his speech， Lin Songtian summarized the main activities the CPAFFC had carried out with Russia in the past two years. He said that as the chair unit of the committee’s Council of Friends， the CPAFFC has implemented the important consensus reached by the heads of the two countries and the work arrangements made by chairs of the committee on both sides. It has actively carried out people-to-people diplomacy， public diplomacy and city diplomacy with Russia. It has worked with its Russian partners to address COVID-19， advanced people-to-people exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation， consolidated and deepened traditional friendship and mutual trust， nurtured and strengthened the continuing strength of China-Russia friendship and achieved positive results.

Lin noted that next year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Russia Friendship， Peace and Development Committee. As the chair unit of the committee’s Council of Friends， the CPAFFC will take the anniversary as a main line， implement the important consensus reached by the heads of the two countries， make detailed plans and actively promote friendly exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation between the youth， friendship cities and local governments of both countries. It will continue to strengthen friendship between the two sides from a higher starting point and contribute to the deepening of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era.

The China-Russia Friendship Committee for Peace and Development is a people-to-people friendship organization initiated by the heads of state of China and Russia in April 1997. It aims to enhance mutual understanding between the people of China and Russia， deepen the traditional friendship， promote friendly exchanges and cooperation in various fields， actively publicize the peaceful concept of lasting friendship between the two countries and continuously consolidate public support for the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination in the new era.

The committee has 16 councils， including local cooperation， media， ecology， culture， friends， women， industrialists， experts， science and innovation， religious affairs， old friends， the disabled， medicine， youth， education and healthy lifestyle. The secretariats are located in the foreign ministries of the two countries.

The CPAFFC is a chair unit of the committee’s Council of Friends， with Lin Songtian as chairman and Jiang Jiang as vice-chairman.