ＣＰＡＦＦＣ Ｄｅｌｅｇａｔｉｏｎ Ｖｉｓｉｔｓ Ｕｋｒａｉｎｅ

A 3-member delegation led by Su Guang， vice president of the CPAFFC and the China-Ukraine Friendship Association (CUFA)， paid a goodwill working visit to Kiev， capital of Ukraine， and Yalta from June 20 to 27.

V. Vatchevski， the first vice minister of economy， met with the delegation. Su Guang gave a briefing about the characteristics， aims and the main work of the CPAFFC， the situation of China’s economic development and the role played by the CPAFFC in helping Chinese regions and enterprises carry out exchanges and cooperation with foreign countries in line with the need of the country’s economic construction. Su specially pointed out， not long ago， speaking at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the CPAFFC， President Hu Jintao fully affirmed the work done by the CPAFFC and attached great importance to nongovernmental diplomacy. Su continued， in recent years， the CPAFFC and the CUFA have given high priority to friendly relations with Ukraine， and actively promoted the substantial cooperation between localities of China and Ukraine; for example， at the end of last year and in the first half of this year， they received large-sized delegations led by governors of Ivano-Frankivsk and Rivne states. So far， twenty pairs of friendship cities have been twinned between the two countries. Su hoped that the two sides would further strengthen cooperation in this aspect.

Vice Minister Vatchevski spoke highly of the achievements that has attracted worldwide attention made by China in the past decade or so， and said that China’s experience in economic reforms is useful for the development of Ukraine. He said， at present Ukraine’s economy is in the period of vigorous development. In 2003， the growth rate of GNP stood at 9 percent， while industry grew by 15 percent and the machine building industry by 30 percent. But foreign investment in Ukraine is rather small， only 1.5 billion US dollars， which does not tally with the level of the national economic development. In Ukraine now there isn’t a strong domestic driving force to push the economic development， so more foreign investments are needed to maintain the rate of growth. He said， China has such rich experience in attracting foreign investments that no other country can compare with. The Ukrainian government hopes to learn from China’s experience and that China will increase its investment in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government actively supports the cooperation between the localities of the two countries， which is beneficial to both sides. The Ukrainian Ministry of Economy backs the suggestion of actively carrying out cooperation between the localities of the two countries put forward by the CPAFFC， and is willing to strengthen contacts with the CPAFFC and the CUFA so as to further this cooperation and give the cooperation richer contents and more substances， he added.

In his meeting with Su Guang， V. Kiryan，vice mayor of Kiev， said， Kiev has forged friendship city ties with Beijing and Wuhan， and has good cooperative relations with many Chinese friends. In recent years， the economic and trade exchanges between the two countries have increased considerably. The cooperation between entrepreneurs of the two countries is mainly in the fields of electronics and computer industries. Kiev has advanced industries such as aeronautic and space flight industry， machine building， ship building， food industry， light industry such as things for children use， etc. He hoped that import and export trade between the two countries would be further increased in the future. He specially pointed out， Kiev has a strong capacity for scientific research， for in the city there is the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences with a great number of professional talents in high technology and more than 200 institutes engaged in the research of new technologies and new materials. The cooperation between Ukraine and China in the field of science and technology has bright prospects. He hoped that China would increase its investment in Kiev and establish joint ventures on the basis of mutual benefits.

A. Novyk and N. Sidorova， vice presidents of the Ukraine-China Society (UCS)， cordially met with and entertained the delegation. A. Novyk， on behalf of G. Surkis， president of the UCS， who was on a visit abroad， expressed his warm welcome to Su Guang and his party. After listening to Su Guang’s briefing about the CPAFFC， he said， the CPAFFC is a big bridge that connects China and other countries in the world. Compared with the CPAFFC， the UCS， a wholly nongovernmental organization， is a minor bridge. The leaders and members of the UCS fully understand the importance of promoting friendship between the Ukrainian and Chinese peoples， and have done a lot of work for it. During his visit in Ukraine President Jiang Zemin accompanied by President Leonid Danilovich Kuchma visited the office of the UCS， and the two leaders spoke highly of the work done by the UCS. A. Novyk said， mutual understanding and trust between the two peoples are the important prerequisite for the two sides to carry out economic and trade cooperation and make investments. The UCS and the CPAFFC， the two bridges of friendship， should better carry out cooperation in the future so as to enhance mutual understanding and trust between the two peoples.