On September 13, the reception in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Iraq was co-hosted in Beijing by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and the Embassy of  the Republic of Iraq in China. Mr. Arken Imirbaki, Vice Chairman of Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and President of the Chinese-Arab Friendship Association, Madam Lin Yi, Vice President of the CPAFFC, Mr. Chen Xiaodong, Assistant Minister of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the representatives from the relatives institutions and organizations such as International Department of CPC Central Committee, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education, China Youth Federation, enterprises and the main media institutions, as well as all the diplomats from the Embassy of Iraq and Iraqi immigrants in China and relative embassies together about more than 300 guests attended the reception. Before the reception, Vice Chairman Arken Imirbaki met with Ambassador Berwari and Mr. Haider Al-Rubeiy, President of Iraqi-China Friendship Association who came all the way from Iraq for this function. They visited the exhibition of pictures of Iraqi customs and relations between the two countries together. Vice President Lin Yi and Ambassador Ahmad Berwari delivered speeches respectively at the reception. President Lin Yi said in her speech that, China and Iraq have traditional friendship. At present, Iraq has become China's third largest trading partner in the Arab world and the fourth largest supplier of crude oil in the world. China has been Iraq's largest trading partner and crude oil buyer for many years. The CPAFFC looks forward to working with Iraqi side to further promote the development of friendly and cooperative relations in various fields between China and Iraq and jointly create a better future for both countries. Ambassador Berwari recalled the long history of bilateral exchanges between Iraq and China and thanked the Chinese government and people for their consistent support for Iraq over the past 60 years. He firmly believed that the profound and friendly relations between China and Iraq would continue. During the reception, Vice Chairman Arken Imirbaki and Ambassador Berwari unveiled the commemorative envelop and the stamps for 60th anniversary. Vice Chairman Arken Imirbaki  presented the commemorative porcelain plate of the envelope and Xi Jinping: The Governance of China I and II to Ambassador Berwari and then, they cut the celebration cake for 60th anniversary. At the reception, the Iraqi folk music band and Chinese dancing group presented the wonderful shows.                          

On September 12th, Vice President of CPAFFC Mme Lin Yi met with Mr. Mbassi, Secretary General of UCLGA in Beijing. Vice President Lin Yi thanked Mr. Mbassi for his constant support to CPAFFC and made introduction of the major projects and key working fields of CPAFFC in African Affairs. She hoped that both sides could jointly promote the exchanges and cooperation between China Africa local governments of in the areas of youth, culture, charity and experience of governance. Mr. Mbassi expressed his gratitude to Vice President Lin for her meeting with him. He said that the "Eight Initiatives" proposed by President Xi Jinping aiming at boosting Africa's development had set the direction for China-Africa relations.UCLGA is willing to work together with CPAFFC and make local governments and people benefit more from China-Africa cooperation. Mr. Li Hai, Deputy Director General of the Department of Asian and African Affairs of CPAFFC, was present at the meeting.     Photographed by Yang Huiwen

On September 11, the reception in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Oman was co-hosted in Beijing by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and the Embassy of Oman in China. Mr. Arken Imirbaki, Vice Chairman of Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and President of the Chinese-Arab Friendship Association, Mr. Yang Fuchang, former Deputy Minister of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and President of China Oman Friendship Association, Madam Lin Yi, Vice President of the CPAFFC, and Dr. Abdulmonam Al-Hasani, Minister of Information of Oman, Dr. Abdullah Saleh Al Saadi, Ambassador of Oman to China, together with other 400 guests attended the reception. Vice President Lin Yi said in her speech that, over the past four decades since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Oman, bilateral friendly cooperation has seen smooth development, with pragmatic achievements covering various fields, and the China-Oman strategic partnership was established this May. She stressed that development of bilateral relations requires support and involvement of all parties, and called for further cooperation between both countries in various fields, friendship associations included, to make more contribution for a closer people-to-people bond between China and Oman, as well as among all Belt and Road countries. Minister of Information Dr. Hasani said that the relations between our two countries have not been a passing event in the past, but an inevitable result of the peace-loving spirit and humanitarian communication with people and civilizations. He hoped that the two countries could, through joint efforts, open a beautiful terrace with colorful orchards of Omani-Chinese friendship.             Photographed by Tu Lili

A dialogue between leaders of Chinese and Russia regions, sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China (MFA China) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (MFA Russia), co-organized by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and the Local Cooperation Council of the Russia-China Friendship Committee for Peace and Development (RCFCPD), was held successfully in Vladivostok in Russia's Far East on September 11th, 2018. Nine Chinese leaders from provinces and autonomous regions including Mr. Li Jiheng, Provincial Committee Secretary of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Mr. Chen Qiufa, Provincial Committee Secretary of Liaoning Province, Mr. Bayanqolu, Provincial Committee Secretary of Jilin Province, Mr. Zhang Qingwei, Provincial Committee Secretary of Heilongjiang Province, Mr. Lou Qinjian, Provincial Committee Secretary of Jiangsu Province, Mr. Che Jun, Provincial Committee Secretary of Zhejiang Province, Mr. Liu Jiayi, Provincial Committee Secretary of Shandong Province, Mr. Peng Qinghua, Provincial Committee Secretary of Sichuan Province, Mr. Ma Xingrui, Provincial Committee Secretary of Guangdong Province, and Russian leaders from thirteen federal subjects, such as Primorsky Krai, Khabarovsk Krai, Amurskaya Oblast, Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Zabaykalsky Krai, Republic of Tatarstan, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Irkutsk, Moscow Oblast, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Yaroslavl Oblast, Tula Oblast, Republic of Chechnya, took part in the dialogue. Mme. Li Xiaolin, President of CPAFFC, presided the dialogue. Earlier this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Putin decided to hold years of China-Russia local cooperation and exchange in 2018 and 2019 during exchanging congratulatory messages on the coming New Year. This dialogue is one of the important bilateral activities held during Chinese President Xi attending the Fourth Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok as well as is the highest-level and largest conference in the history of China-Russia local exchange, which completely indicates that the two central governments pay high attention to local cooperation, and the Sino-Russian local cooperation is full of vitality and enthusiasm.       Photographed by Feng Miao    

On September 6, Mr. Joseph Kahama, the Secretary-General of the Tanzania China Friendship Promotion Association (TCFPA), Mr. Francis Semwaza, the well-known columnist in Tanzania, and Mr. Joseph Kazambe, the Chinese translator for H.E. Mr. Nyerere, the founding President of Tanzania, paid a visit to the CPAFFC. Mme, Tang Ruimin, Deputy Director General of the Department of Asian & African Affairs, met with and held a luncheon for the delegation. Mme. Tang Ruimin welcomed the delegation to the CPAFFC, and said that the friendship between Tanzania and China has enjoyed a long history. The CPAFFC has long maintained close and friendly exchanges with the civil organizations and local governments in Tanzania. The two sides have carried enriched activities within the platform of Forum on China Africa Local Government Cooperation and China Africa Friendship Organization Leaders Meeting, which has contributed to carrying and pushing forward China-Tanzania traditional friendship. Mr. Kahama said that in recent years, the two associations have carried out frequent and pragmatic exchanges. In the future, he will push the TCFPA to cooperate with the Chinese side in areas such as trade and culture, and facilitate the establishment of more friendship cities between the two countries. The two sides also exchanged views on the just-concluded Beijing Summit of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum 2018, saying that under the framework of the "eight major initiatives" of China-Africa cooperation, which was proposed by the Chinese President Xi Jinping, we will jointly promote Sino-Tanzanian people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.        

Mr. Song Jingwu, Vice President of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), attended the 2nd Jinhai Lake World Anti-Aging Forum and delivered a speech on September 4th, 2018. The forum, with the theme of Extend the Beauty of Life, brought the world leading anti-aging technology and experts as well as scholars together to discuss how to improve the health and quality of human life and to continuously explore more efficient and scientific solutions in comprehensive health field. Vice President Song Jingwu said, CPAFFC could exert its advantages to further promote the exchanges and cooperation between China and foreign countries in the world in the field of anti-aging, and make more contributions to realizing healthy old-aged care of the Chinese people.      

On September 4th , Vice President Song Jingwu met with Chinese people’s old friend Mrs. Sarah Lande and the Iowa delegation. Vice President Song said that, the sister province-state relationship between Hebei and Iowa is exemplary in China-US subnational relationship, which has  contributed to the progress of China-US biliteral relations. CPAFFC would like to work closely with Iowa to further advance our friendly ties under the current circumstances that the bilateral relations are at the critical period. Mrs. Sarah Lande said that people-to-people friendship holds the key for the bilateral relationship, and Iowa hopes to strengthen its ties with Hebei, thus making new contributions to US-China relationship.    

The reception of 30th anniversary of the establishment of the San Marino-China Friendship Association was held on the 3rd, September in Beijing by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC). Vice President of CPAFFC Song Jingwu and Gian Franco Terenzi, President of the San Marino-China Friendship Association attended the ceremony. In his speech, Mr Song pointed out that ever since its establishment, the San Marino-China Friendship Association has been dedicated to promoting bilateral political, economic and cultural cooperation and has played an irreplaceable role in strengthening friendship between China and San Marino. Mr Terenzi said the San Marino-China Friendship Association has worked in close cooperation with the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries in the past 30 years. With joint efforts of both sides, such partnership with continuously bear new fruits. Mr Song and Mr Terenzi unveiled the commemorative cover that mark the anniversary during the ceremony.             Photographed by Wang Peilin 

On the evening of September 3rd, Mr. Chen Yuan, President of China and Russia Friendship Association (CRFA) and Vice Chairman of the 12th CPPCC National Committee, met in Beijing with and held a banquet for Dmitry Mezentsev, Chairman of the Russia-China Friendship Association (RCFA) and Chairman of Russia’s Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy and his wife, who were at the invitation of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. President Chen Yuan extend welcome to Chairman Dmitry Mezentsev for visiting China, made a brief introduction about the recent situation and plan of CRFA and proposed constructive suggestions. Chairman Dmitry Mezentsev expressed thanks to President Chen Yuan for taking time to meet them and appreciation to CRFA for giving a lot support in the delegation visiting in Beijing this time. Both sides had an in-depth discussion on the issues concerning economy, trade, fiance, humanities, nongovernmental organizations and local governments, and reached active consensus. Mr. Song Jingwu, Vice President of CPAFFC, Mr. Shen Xin，Director General of the Department of European and Asian Affairs of CPAFFC, Mr. Denisov Andrey, Russian Ambassador to China, attended the meeting.   from left to right: Chairman Dmitry Mezentsev, President Chen Yuan, Ambassador Denisov Andrey      

On September 2, the CPAFFC Vice President Lin Yi attended and addressed the China-Zambia Business Forum. In her speech, Lin Yi pointed said that Zambia, as an important and influential country on the African continent, has always been a key to the CPAFFC on its friendship-with-Africa work. With the local governments and friendship organizations as the focus, the CPAFFC has carried out a number of China-Zambia friendship projects, which are various in forms and rich in content, such as exchange visits, dialogues and award ceremony, in order to constantly enhance and consolidate the traditional friendship between the Chinese and Zambian peoples. On the occasion of the Beijing Summit of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum, we believe that under the leadership of President Xi Jinping and President Lungu, and with the joint efforts of people from all walks of life of our two countries as well, China-Zambia relations will usher in greater development, and the flower of people-to-people friendship will yield more fruits. The China-Zambia Business Forum was hosted by the Zambian Embassy in China and supported by the China Nonferrous Metal Mining. H.E. Mr. Edgar Lungu, the Zambian President, H.E. Mr. Christopher Yaluma, Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry of Zambia, H.E. Mrs. Winnie N. Chibesakunda, the Zambian Ambassador to China, H.E. Mr. Li Baodong, the Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, H.E. Mr. Li Jie, the Chinese Ambassador to Zambia and other people from all walks of life attended the forum.        Photographed by Liu Hongmin