At the invitation of CPAFFC, H. E. Ph.D Sinlavong KHOUTPHAYTHOUNE, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of People’s Revolutionary Party of the Laos and Party Secretary and Governor of Vientiane, led a delegation of 22 people including government officials and entrepreneurs to visit Beijing from April 24 to 27 and attended the thematic forum on Sub-national Corporation under the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.   Sinlavong KHOUTPHAYTHOUNE made a speech on the Opening ceremony of the thematic forum on Sub-national Corporation Sinlavong KHOUTPHAYTHOUNE made a speech on the opening ceremony of the thematic forum on Sub-national Corporation. He said that Lao PDR and China are good neighbors with shared future and the Laos-China Comprehensive Strategic and Cooperative Partnership relations enjoys smooth development. The Laos highly praises and fully supports the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping and the jointly building projects under Belt and Road Initiative such as Laos-China high speed railway will bring tangible benefits to the Laos. Sinlavong also pointed out that sub-national corporation is of great importance in bilateral ties and the Belt and Road Initiative would promote the development of local government like Vientiane as well as other counterparts both in China and the Laos. During his visit in Beijing, Mr. Cai Qi, member of Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and municipal party secretary of Beijing, met with Governor Sinlavong and his delegation. Mme. Li Xiaolin, President of CPAFFC presented the Award of “Exchange and Cooperation of Chinese Sister City” to H.E. PhD Sinlavong KHOUTPHAYTHOUNE which was awarded to Vientiane in last November. Mme. Lin Yi, Vice President of CPAFFC attended the above-mentioned activities. Governor Sinlavong and his delegation also paid a visit to some Chinese enterprises such as CHEC, NORINCO, CRCC and etc.   Cai Qi met with H.E. PhD Sinlavong KHOUTPHAYTHOUNE Mme. Li Xiaolin present the award to H.E. PhD Sinlavong KHOUTPHAYTHOUNE Meeting with CHEC Meeting with NORINCO Meeting with CRCC     Photographed by Liu Lu

On April 26,  Vice President Lin Yi of CPAFFC met with Mr. Adriano Botelho de Vasconcelos, Advisor to Angolan President in Beijing. Mr. Adriano Botelho de Vasconcelos was visiting China at the invitation of CPAFFC. Madame Lin briefed Mr. Vasconcelos on CPAFFC’s exchanges with Angola. She said that CPAFFC is willing to collaborate with Angolan counterparts and implement the relevant consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries through deepening people-to-people and cultural communication, advancing practical cooperation of local governments and achieve zero breakthrough on the twinning of friendship provinces and cities.  Madame Lin also hoped that Mr. Vasconcelos continue to care for the China-Angola friendship cause and support the work of the friendship associations of the two countries. Mr. Vasconcelos highly appreciated the work of the friendship associations of the two countries. He said that Angola can draw on the experience from the remarkable achievements of China and accelerate the national development. He expressed his willingness to give his full support to the friendship associations, introduce Chinese values to Angola as well as promote the twinning of friendship provinces and cities.   Mr. Vasconcelos thanked the Chinese side for making arrangements for him to attend the Belt and Road CEO Conference during the Second Belt and Road Forum on International Cooperation. He said that the market environment in Angola is gradually improving, which will provide great development opportunities for both state-owned and private enterprises of China.  Madame Lin said that the Belt and Road Initiative is, up to now, the largest public goods provided for the international community by China. The Second Belt and Road Forum on International Cooperation will further strengthen the “hard connectivity” as well as “soft connectivity” between China and other countries in the world so as to realize common development.            Photographed by Xu Yan

Mr. Song Jingwu, vice president of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), met in Beijing with Mr. TASSO TAKUYA, governor of Iwate –ken, Japan, and his delegation on April 25. Mme. Zhu Dan, deputy director-general of Department of Japanese Affairs of CPAFFC, Mr. Li Jiming, director general of Foreign Affairs Office of Yunnan Provincial People’s Government, Mme. Zhou Hong, president of Yunnan People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, attended the meeting. Vice President Song Jingwu extended welcome to Governor TASSO TAKUYA for paying special visit in Beijing to attend Local Government Sub-forum of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF). He said, although the Sino-Japanese relations confronted with difficulties, the two countries have been developing the exchanges and cooperation between the local governments, which boosted the improvement of the bilateral ties. The current Sino-Japanese relations have returned to the  normal track with showing positive signs, which are inseparable from the active efforts of the local governments of the two countries including Iwate-ken. The Belt and Road Initiative provided new opportunities for the two countries to deepen cooperation. He expected that China and Japan would take BRF as an opportunity to continuously deepen the exchanges and cooperation, and jointly make more contributions to the peace and development in Asia and the world. Governor TASSO TAKUYA made an introduction about the exchanges situation developed by Iwate-ken and Yunnan province as well as other relevant regions in China. He said, these years, Iwate-ken increasingly developed exchanges with China, which achieved a lot of pragmatic results. He would like to take this opportunity to further deepen the exchanges and cooperation with China in various fields and improve the bilateral relations through jointly participating in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative.         Photographed by Shen Haiting

On the afternoon of April 25th , jointly hosted by CPAFFC and Beijing Municipal People’s Government, the Thematic Forum on Subnational Cooperation of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was successfully held at China National Convention Center in Beijing. The Forum centers on “Deepening Sub-national Cooperation and Sharing Development Benefits”. More than 300 delegates from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao,and over 40 countries covering five continents attended the Forum. There were state governors, mayors and their representatives, representatives of numerous international organizations, entrepreneurs, experts, scholars, etc. Madame Li Xiaolin, President of CPAFFC and CIFCA, Mr. Chen Jining, Mayor of Beijing, Madame Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr. Sinlavong Khoutphaythoune, Secretary of CPC Committee and Governor of Vientiane of Lao PDR, Mr. Christian Wulff, Former President of Germany attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches respectively.    During the meeting, representatives from various countries shared their experience and achievements in Belt and Road local exchanges and discussed future cooperation prospects and opportunities. In their speeches, all governors highly recognized the positive influences of “the Belt and Road Initiative” on local cooperation among countries. They also expressed their expectation to further enhance  exchanges at local and regional level under BRI framework, by actively participating in Belt and Road cooperation, promote local economic and social development and improve people’s wellbeing.  Meanwhile, together with local governments of all countries and guided by the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, they hope to strengthen dialogue and cooperation, continue to develop friendship city relations in an active, pragmatic and gradual manner, and jointly promote Belt and Road construction.   14 local cooperation agreements between China and foreign countries were signed during the forum, involving many aspects such as establishment of friendship city relations, people-to-people exchanges, economic and trade cooperation. These fruitful results have conveyed a positive signal from all parties to deepen local cooperation and work together to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.             Photographed by Liu Yan

Seminar on U.S. Flying Tigers Heritage in Commemoration of the 40th Anniversary of the Establishment of China-U.S. Diplomatic Relations was co-hosted by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries(CPAFFC), Foreign Affairs Office of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Guilin Municipal Government in Guilin on April 25, 2019. Themed as “History Shows the Way forward for the Future: Meeting Challenges Together and Expanding Win-win Cooperation”, the seminar has been participated by more than 60 representatives including government officials, experts and scholars, entrepreneurs. Speakers from the Chinese side include Sun Dawei, deputy party secretary of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Zhou Wenzhong, former Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. as well as vice president of China-U.S. Friendship Association, Zhang Heqiang, director general of the American and Oceanian Affairs Department of CPAFFC, Wu Baiyi, director of Institute of American Studies of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Qi Zhenhong, president of China Institute of International Studies, Wu Sichun, director of Institute for International Strategic Studies of Shanghai Institutes for International Studies and Deputy Director Zhou Bo of Lingui District of Guilin city.  Besides, Zhao Leqin, vice chairman of the standing committee of Guangxi people's congress and secretary of CPC Guilin Committee attended the seminar. Speakers from the U.S. side include U.S. Ambassador Terry Branstad, James Whitehead, chairman of the Flying Tigers Historic Organization, Chip Carter, special representative and son of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Chris Cox, grandson of former U.S. President Richard Nixon and vice president of Bright Sphere Investment Group Asian Company, Larry Jobe, president of the Flying Tigers Historic Organization, Nell Calloway, granddaughter of General Chennault and K.C. Ma, vice president of the Flying Tigers Historic Organization. Director General Zhang Heqiang mentioned in his speech that the traditional cooperative friendship between the Flying Tigers and Chinese people, which dates back to 70 years ago, is playing an enlightening role to the current China-U.S. relations.  This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and U.S. He would like to review the cooperation history with people from all walks of life in our two countries, pass on the friendship and call on the two peoples to seize opportunities and meet challenges together, making our own contributions to build a coordinated, cooperative and stable China-U.S. relationship as well as building a community with a shared future for mankind. After the seminar, participants also visited the American Flying Tigers Guilin Heritage Park and attended the launching ceremony of the Youth Volunteers’ Action to Protect the Mother River.                            Foreign Affairs Office of Guilin City

On April 25th, Vice President Song Jingwu met with the delegation led by Chairman Okamoto Tamotsu of Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR), Japan  who was to attend Local Cooperation Panel of the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation at the invitation of the CPAFFC. Vice President Song Jingwu said that with the joint efforts by the government and other sectors of society in the two countries, China-Japan relations have returned to normal track with momentum of active new developments. The CPAFFC and the CLAIR, together with our Korean counterpart, have co-hosted the China-Japan-Korea Friendship Cities Conference for more than two decades in a row. During the rock bottom of the bilateral relations, the CLAIR continued facilitating China-Japan local exchanges and cooperation and made its contributions to bring the bilateral relations back to normal track. Today, the Local Cooperation Panel of the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation has been successfully co-hosted by the CPAFFC and Beijing Municipal Government. With China-Japan relations facing opportunities of further improvements, the CPAFF, as Chinese local governments’ major channel for international exchanges, is willing to strengthen coordination with the CLAIR to promote the exchanges and  cooperation between Chinese and Japanese local governments and play an active role in the long term steady developments of China-Japan relations. Chairman Okamoto congratulated the CPAFFC on the success of the Local Cooperation Panel and said that local exchanges and cooperation serve as an important foundation of Japan-China relations, the CLAIR will maintain its close cooperation with the CPAFFC and further promote Japan-China local exchanges and make its due efforts to the further improvement and development of Japan-China relations.         Photographed by Pan Lin 

Vice President Xie Yuan met with representatives of US organizations Sister Cities International and US Sino Friendship Association, attending the Sub-national Cooperation Thematic Forum of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (the Second BRF). Vice President Xie introduced that in line with the trend of prospering sub-national cooperation between China and other countries in recent years, the Second BRF sets up for the first time the Sub-national Cooperation Thematic Forum. During the thematic forum, over 100 delegates from around the world will discuss on the achievements and prospects of the sub-national exchanges and cooperation between China and other countries. Xie hoped that the US participants could make full use of this forum to tap the potential of sub-national cooperation with China by expanding areas of cooperation and exploring future contacts, so as to make positive contribution to the development of China-US sub-national cooperation. Carol Lopez, chair-elect of Sister Cities International, expressed that the BRI of China draws great attention worldwide. The Fourth US China Sister Cities Conference, which is scheduled in July in Houston, will also make "Belt and Road" as one of its important topics. Lopez expected to learn more about the BRI through the forum.          Photographed by Zhang Yang

Mr. Song Jingwu, vice president of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and vice president of China-Russia Friendship Association (CRFA), met with and held a banquet for Mr. Mezentsev, chairman of Russia-China Friendship Association (RCFA) and chairman of Economic Committee of Russian Federation Council, who was recommended by CPAFFC and was invited to visit China by Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation Organizing Committee on April 24. Both sides had a discussion on the cooperative programs the two organizations developed recently. Russian side expressed appreciation for being invited to attend the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and spoke highly of the current achievements the Belt and Road Initiatives had made. Mr. Shen Xin, director-general of Department of European and Asian Affairs of CPAFFC, Mme. Hu Chunmei, associated counsel of Department of European and Asian Affairs of CPAFFC, Mme. O. Melynikova, cultural counselor of the Russian Embassy in China and director-general of Russian Cultural Center (RCC) and etc., attended the meeting.         Photographed by Zheng Chen

On April 24, End Malaria Council (EMC) Beijing Meeting was held in Beijing. Madam Li Xiaolin, President of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and H. E. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, former President of Tanzania attended the meeting and delivered speeches respectively. They both are members of EMC. President Li Xiaolin welcomed H. E. Kikwete. She indicated that ending malaria had been listed in the Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations and EMC is an important link to realize this goal. After decades of efforts, China had accumulated abundant experiences, techniques and talents on anti-malaria. CPAFFC, as an organization in general consultative status with ECOSOC, is dedicated to build platforms between organizations at home and abroad to introduce Chinese models and best practices to other countries when necessary. She hoped that this meeting could promote the cooperation between China and other countries, especially high-burden countries in Africa, so that Chinese models and experiences could be applied to Africa and Mekong river countries to help the overall elimination of malaria around the world. H. E. Kikwete pointed out that the infection and death rate of Malaria in many African countries had dropped drastically in recent years but the challenges continued to be severe. In African countries, malaria is still one of the most deadly diseases. Since the establishment of EMC, many actions had been taken to control malaria with good results achieved. H. E. Kikwete hoped that international community could provide  artemisinin medication, long-lasting insecticide nets and carry out international cooperation to help developing countries to further control and eliminate malaria. China has made great achievements and provided a variety of international aid in anti-malaria endeavor. EMC would like to strengthen its cooperation with China and spread the experiences and technology to the countries in need. Representatives and experts from National Health Commission, Ministry of Commerce, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, World Health Organization attended the meeting to exchange views on Chinese experiences and anti-malaria cooperation. EMC is initiated and launched in 2017 by Bill Gates, Co-chair of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Ray Chambers, UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Health in Agenda 2030 and for Malaria. It is mainly composed of representatives from high-malaria-burden and major donor countries aiming to eliminate malaria globally.         Photographed by Ren Xin

On April 24, United Nations Every Woman Every Child China Partnership Network (hereinafter referred to as EWECCPN) meeting was held in Beijing. Madam Li Xiaolin, President of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), Mr. Xie Yuan, Vice President of CPAFFC, and H. E. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, former President of Tanzania and Alternative Co-chair of UN Every Woman Every Child High Level Steering Group (EWEC HLSG) attended the meeting and delivered speeches respectively. As member of EWEC HLSG, President Li Xiaolin hosted the meeting and welcomed H. E. Kikwete. President Li pointed out that the health and welfare of every woman, child and adolescent played an important part in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. CPAFFC actively promoted and supported the global health strategy of Every Woman Every Child Initiative proposed by the United Nations, and took the lead to launch the Every Woman Every Child China Partnership Network (EWECCPN). Since its establishment, EWECCPN had been widely supported by government departments, academic groups, social organizations and enterprises, forming a comprehensive partnership network crossing different sections, fields and industries to advance the realization of health projects for women and children in China, Africa and other related countries. This meeting aimed to build consensus, share experiences and carry forward cooperation. Mme. Li said that the upcoming Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation presented China’a tangible action for building a community with a shared future for humanity. EWECCPN would also continue to integrate China’s development with that of other countries. By working with partners from all over the world, EWECCPN would focus on the need of recipient countries, exploit new potentials for collaboration so as to achieve win-win cooperation and common development, making contribution to the health of women and children in China, Africa and other countries. H. E. Kikwete in his speech introduced the difficult challenges faced by African countries in the fields of women and children, including lacking doctors and nurses, lacking medical equipment and malnutrition. He pointed out that a series of measures had been taken by African countries in recent years and positive results had been gained. However, there was still a distance for them to reach the 2030 SDG. African countries still needed further support from international community. China’s Belt and Road Initiative and China-Africa Forum are both important platforms for African countries. Through these framework and initiatives, African countries could get necessary support to build a more extensive and comprehensive partnership to tackle the challenges on the health of mother and children. H. E. Kikwete expressed his gratitude to President Li for holding this meeting. He thanked the commitments and efforts China had made and was willing to work with China, and would report the content of the meeting to the UN EWEC HLSG meeting to be held in September. Counsellor Huang Hongjiang from Department of International Organization and Conferences, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), mentioned in his speech that MFA, as the Guidance Unit to EWECCPN, highly appreciated the great efforts and positive achievements made by CPAFFC as the coordinating unit of EWECCPN. MFA would continue to support CPAFFC and EWECCPN to carry out pragmatic projects to benefit women and children in China and in the world. Vice President Xie Yuan, in the closing remarks, thanked all the parties and wished all the stakeholders continue to support EWECCPN, making it a shared platform combining more resources and promoting more cooperation. Others present at the meeting were around 18 Chinese organizations including All-China Women's Federation, Tsinghua University, International Health Exchange and Cooperation Center of National Health Commission and Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Health, Education and Research Foundation, as well as Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, United Nations Population Fund China Office and other international organizations and UN agencies in China. They   shared their experiences and suggestions. All the attendees expressed wish to work closer together to jointly make more contributions to realize the the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health.         Photographed by Ren Xin