Ｐｒｅｓｉｄｅｎｔ ｏｆ Ａｕｔｏｎｏｍｏｕｓ Ｒｅｇｉｏｎａｌ Ｇｏｖｅｒｎｍｅｎｔ ｏｆ Ｃａｔａｌｏｎｉａ ｏｆ Ｓｐａｉｎ Ｖｉｓｉｔｓ Ｃｈｉｎａ

Pasqual Maragall， president of the government of the Autonomous Region of Catalonia of Spain and leader of the Catalan Socialist Party， led a Catalan government delegation to China in October 2004 at the invitation of the CPAFFC.

Catalonia is an important region and one of the economic engines of Spain as well as Europe， taking up a relatively big proportion in the country’s economy and export， especially its trade with China.

On the evening of October 18， CPAFFC President Chen Haosu hosted a welcoming banquet in honour of President Maragall and his party. Hu Qili， chairman of the Chinese Committee of the China-Spain Forum， Yuan Tao， former chairman of the Subcommittee of Foreign Affairs of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)， and Su Guang， vice president of the CPAFFC， were present at the banquet. In his speech President Chen Haosu expressed thanks to President Maragall for his efforts over the years to promote friendship and cooperation between China and Spain， and between the peoples and localities of the two countries， and hoped that Maragall’s visit would further enhance bilateral friendship and cooperation. Maragall said in his reply that the nongovernmental friendship organizations of the two countries play an important role in safeguarding world peace and promoting common development. He stressed that cities are centres of the political， economic and cultural life and the friendly cooperation between the cities and localities is the cornerstone of the friendly cooperation between the two countries.

On the afternoon of October 19， Jia Qinglin， chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC， met with President Maragall and his party in Fuzhou. Jia Qinglin briefed the guests on the progress and achievements China has made since reform and opening up and happily recalled his successful visit to Spain a month ago. He pointed out， in the past 31 years since the two countries established diplomatic relations， friendly relations between China and Spain have been continuously deepened. The frequent exchanges of high-level visits， economic and trade cooperation and cultural and sports exchanges are not only conducive to the prosperity and development of China and Spain， but also to world peace and stability. The Chinese Government attaches great importance to developing friendly and cooperative relations with the localities of Spain. He expressed appreciation of the efforts made by Maragall to enhance the exchanges and cooperation between the localities of the two countries and wished the second meeting of the China-Spain Forum a complete success.

In Beijing， President Maragall called on Bo Xilai， minister of commerce， Wang Qishan， mayor of Beijing and executive president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG)， and Li Hui， assistant foreign minister.

At these meetings， the two sides expressed satisfaction at the friendly exchanges and cooperation between the two countries as well as between the localities and agreed that political mutual trust and high-level exchanges have been continuously strengthened. They hoped to further cooperation and exchanges in a wide range of areas between the two sides through this new platform——China-Spain Forum.

Maragall expressed his worries about Spain’s large trade deficit with China and hoped that China would increase its import from his country. He also welcomed China to invest in Catalonia to make it the base of its export to Europe and the world. The Chinese side stated， the great amount of surplus is not what China seeks in its foreign trade. Mutual benefit and trade balance are China’s goals. The relatively large deficit in Spain’s trade with China should be resolved through joint efforts and by bringing into play the advantages of both sides， tapping potential and deepening cooperation. The two sides should make continuous efforts to encourage people of the business circles to study and understand each other’s market， so as to lay the foundation and create the conditions for entering the other’s market. They welcomed the Spanish side to hold exhibitions and trade fairs in China.

At his meeting with President Maragall， Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng talked about the development of Shanghai and its future goals. Maragall expressed his admiration for the rapid development of Shanghai and happily recalled his visit to Shanghai 16 years ago， which provided a basis for the friendly cooperation between Barcelona， capital of Catalonia， and Shanghai. The two sides expressed willingness to make concerted efforts to further friendly cooperation between the localities of China and Spain.

The delegation attended the China-Spain symposium sponsored by the China Europe International Business School， the signing ceremony of the memorandum of cooperation and understanding between the Port Authority of Barcelona and the Shanghai International Port (Group) Co. Ltd. and between the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and the Shanghai City Federation of Industry and Commerce.