ＣＰＡＦＦＣ Ｐｒｅｓｉｄｅｎｔ Ｃｈｅｎ Ｈａｏｓｕ Ａｔｔｅｎｄｓ Ｎａｍｉｎｇ Ｃｅｒｅｍｏｎｙ ｏｆ Ｔｈｅ Ｓｈｉｐ Ｇｏｔｈｅｂｏｒｇ ｉｎ Ｓｗｅｄｅｎ

At the invitation of Mr. Sven-Eric Soder， state secretary of the Swedish Ministry of Industry， Employment and Communications， and Mr. Gote Bernhardsson， governor of Vastra Gotalands， a CPAFFC delegation led by President Chen Haosu paid a successful visit to Sweden between September 1 and 5， 2004 and attended the naming ceremony of the ship Gotheborg.

In Stockholm， President Chen met with Mr. Per Westerberg， first deputy speaker of the Swedish Parliament and Mr. Hans Dahlgren， state secretary for foreign affairs of Sweden. During the meeting， the senior Swedish officials expressed that they set great store by the Sino-Swedish relations and said that Sweden was the first western country to establish diplomatic relations with China. Currently the two countries’ relations have good momentum of development and there are frequent exchanges and close cooperation in the economic， cultural， educational and scientific fields. Sweden is satisfied with the trade relations with China， the No. 1 trade partner of Sweden in Asia. Sweden attaches great importance to consultation and dialogue， believing that discussion on differences itself shows friendship.

On September 3， the Vastra Gotalands government and the Swedish East India Company held a grand naming ceremony for the ship Gotheborg. Some 500 people， including the Swedish King Carl Gustav XVI and Queen Silvia， other members of the Swedish royal family， representatives from the Swedish government， governor of Vastra Gotalands， senior local officials， heads of big companies and enterprises， representatives from the harbour cities along the ship’s retracing voyage to China and foreign diplomats attended the ceremony. CPAFFC President Chen Haosu， together with the delegations headed by Mr. Tang Dengjie， vice mayor of Shanghai， and Mr. Chen Yaoguang， secretary general of Guangzhou Municipal Government， were present at the ceremony. President Chen had cordial and friendly conversation with the Swedish King and Queen.

In 1731， the Swedish East India Company was established and opened the sea route to Asia. By 1813， 37 ships of different sizes sailed to China 135 times for trade. Built in 1738， Gotheborg was the biggest ship in the fleet of East India Company and had successfully completed three voyages between Sweden and China. On January 11， 1745， the ship， loaded with Chinese goods， set sail back to Sweden. It ran on rocks and sank just 900 metres from the port of Gothenburg on September 12.

In 1984， large amount of broken porcelain pieces， tea， spices and silk were discovered at the sinking site. Between 1986 and 1993， efforts were made to salvage the ship. More than 30 exhibitions of the recovered objects have been held， three of which have been mounted in Asia， including the one held in Shanghai in 1992. In 1993， the Swedish East India Company (later renamed as East Indiaman Company) was established to build a full-size replica of the ship Gotheborg with the original technique， which will re-enact the voyage to China. Recommended by the Swedish King， the project received generous support from the Swedish national and local governments， the business sectors as well as the European Union. The Chinese leaders including Chairman Li Ruihuan of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference， Vice Premier Wu Bangguo， State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan and Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing have visited the project. The reconstructed ship Gotheborg was launched in 2003. It was followed by this year’s naming ceremony at Gothenburg， the second largest city of Sweden. It is planned to make a round trip between Sweden and China along the ancient oriental route from 2005 to 2007 which will have historic significance.

At the welcoming ceremony， on behalf of Sweden， Mr. Bouml;rje Ljunggren， the Swedish ambassador to China， presented to President Chen Haosu a letter asking for permission of the ship to retrace its voyage to China in 2005. President Chen， on behalf of China， welcomed the ship to sail back to China as a messenger for trade and friendship. Queen Silvia officially named the ship Gotheborg at the ceremony and wished it bon voyage. The host and the guests exchanged souvenirs. The Chinese songs and dances were performed， which added strong Chinese cultural flavour to the grand celebration and also reflected Sweden’s keen wish to enhance cooperation with China in the economic， cultural， educational and other fields.

The captain of Gotheborg declared that it is planned that the ship will make the trial voyage in April 2005 and sail to China in September of the same year. After a 6-month trip， it will arrive in China in 2006， calling at the Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Shanghai.

At the banquet hosted by the mayor of Gothenburg， President Chen spoke to thank the host for his warm hospitality and thoughtful arrangements. He expressed his wish that the ship’s voyage to China and the relevant events would help lift to a new level the 260-year-old friendly and cooperative Sino-Swedish relations in various fields including economy， trade and culture.