ＰＡＦＣ Ｄｅｌｅｇａｔｉｏｎ ｉｎ Ｃｈｉｎａ

A 10-member delegation of the Panamanian Association of Friendship with China (PAFC) with its president and former Panamanian foreign minister Mr. Oyden Ortega Duran as its leader paid a friendly visit to Beijing， Xi'an and Shanghai from September 18 to 27， 2003 at the invitation of the CPAFFC. Cheng Siwei， vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and president of the China-Latin America Friendship Association (CLAFA)， Li Jinzhang， assistant foreign minister， Cui Lintao， vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the Shaanxi Provincial People's Congress， Xie Lijuan， vice chairperson of the Shanghai Municipal People's Political Consultative Conference， met with the delegation and hosted banquets in its honour respectively.

This was the second PAFC delegation to visit China. Included in the delegation were former foreign minister， bankers， the secretary general of the Anti-Corruption Front， university professors， etc. They had come to learn about China's foreign policy， the achievements scored in economic development since reform and opening up and the long history of China as well.

Vice Chairman Cheng Siwei said when meeting with the delegation， though far apart， the exchanges between China and Panama are many. Due to many reasons， the two countries have not yet established diplomatic relations， but this does not affect the two peoples to deepen their mutual understanding and enhance friendship. The PAFC， since its founding， has done a great deal of work to promote the exchanges between China and Panama. Now in Panama the forces for friendship with China are strengthening and people's understanding of China deepened. More and more people have realized that to develop friendship and establish diplomatic relations with China tally with the interests of the people of the two countries. All this can not be separated from the work of our friends in the PAFC. The vice chairman pointed out， Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. To resolve the Taiwan issue and realize the reunification of the motherland are the common aspirations of all the Chinese people including our Taiwan compatriots. He expressed the hope that the Panamanian Government would take the interests of the bilateral relations into account and handle this issue properly. The vice chairman also briefed the guests on the major functions of the NPC， the work of the CLAFA as well as the preparations for the Second Latin America and Caribbean Regional Conference of Friendship Organizations with China. He presented to the leader of the delegation a letter of invitation to the conference. PAFC President Ortega thanked Vice Chairman Cheng Siwei for meeting with the delegation. He highly praised the development and progress China had achieved， stressed that the normalization of relations between Panama and China was the trend of the times and said that all the members of the PAFC would make continuous efforts to persuade the new government that would be formed in 2004 to establish diplomatic relations with China. President Ortega happily accepted the invitation to attend the Second Latin America and Caribbean Regional Conference of Friendship Organizations with China.

Assistant Foreign Minister Li Jinzhang thanked the PAFC for the great deal of work it had done for the promotion of exchanges and cooperation between China and Latin America when meeting with the delegation. He said， the friendship between the Chinese and Panamanian people has a long history. As early as 150 years ago， the first batch of Chinese came to Panama to build railways and the canal. Sharing weal and woe with the Panamanian people， they have contributed to the country's development. After the founding of new China and despite the fact that China and Panama has not established diplomatic relations， the Chinese Government and people have always firmly supported the just struggle of the Panamanian people to recover sovereignty over the Panama Canal. Since the two countries set up trade representative's offices in each other's countries in 1996， headway has been made in the relations between the two countries with increased political contacts and expanded economic and trade exchanges. Panama has been an important trade partner of China. But the Taiwan issue has always been an obstacle between our two countries and seriously hindered the further development of bilateral relations. Though small in size， Panama enjoys unique international status. The Panamanian people have for years made unremitting efforts to safeguard its sovereignty and won the support of the people of the world. The Taiwan issue concerns the sovereignty of China. The Panamanian Government and people should have a better understanding of us on this issue than other countries and support China's policy of reunification. The Chinese Government believes that the unfriendly actions towards China are taken by a few shortsighted individuals in Panama and do not represent the will of the broad masses of people. We are optimistic about the prospects of our bilateral relations. We hope that our friends in the PAFC will continue its work so as to achieve a qualitative leap in our bilateral relations.

Cui Lintao， vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the Shaanxi Provincial People's Congress， met with the delegation and hosted a banquet in its honour. Vice Chairman Cui introduced to the guests China's western development strategy and the achievements Shaanxi has scored in urban construction， high-tech development and economic and trade cooperation with foreign countries in recent years， and expressed the desire to conduct exchanges and cooperation with Panama. The delegation also visited the Northwest University and held talks with the university on the possibility of carrying out exchanges with the University of Panama.

Vice Chairperson Xie Lijuan of the Shanghai Municipal People's Political Consultative Conference met with and entertained the delegation. By visiting the city's historical development museum， the urban planning exhibition centre and urban communities， the members of the delegation learned about the rise and fall of the City in the past 100 years and the eye-catching achievements won since reform and opening up. Through their direct contact with the ordinary people they witnessed the continuous improvement of people's living standards.

The PAFC was founded in 2001. Its members are from different political parties and various social strata of Panama， including former government officials， members of the National Assembly， businessmen， lawyers， etc. Two former presidents and a former vice president of Panama serve as its honorary presidents. It is the first nongovernmental organization in Panama set up with the aim to promote the establishment of diplomatic relations between Panama and China. It is an influential organization and is growing in strength.

The 10-day visit left good and deep impressions on the members of the delegation. The political stability， the rapid economic growth， the significant improvement of people's livelihood， the increased comprehensive national strength and the rising international status of China won their admiration and enhanced their determination to push for the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. They said that they would tell the people of Panama the real China they had seen with their own eyes and clarify the incorrect reports on China by western media so as to enhance the Panamanian people's understanding of China and contribute their share to the all-round development of relations between the two countries.