Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ Ａｃｔｉｖｉｔｉｅｓ ｉｎ Ｂｒｉｅｆ

State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan Meets with Former Japanese Minister of Construction Kiyoshi Mizuno

On September 22， 2004， State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan met with Kiyoshi Mizuno， former Japanese minister of construction， at Zhongnanhai. The latter came to China at the invitation of the China-Japan Friendship Association. They exchanged views on Sino-Japanese relations and other issues. Tang Jiaxuan stressed that China has not changed its policy of developing friendly and cooperative relations with Japan and that both China and Japan should “draw lessons from history and be forward-looking”， strengthen exchanges in various field at all levels and work to achieve further development of Sino-Japanese relations in the new period. CPAFFC Vice President Chen Yongchang was present at the meeting.

CJFA President Song Jian Meets with Japanese House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono

Song Jian， president of the China-Japan Friendship Association， met with Yohei Kono， speaker of the Japanese House of Representatives who was on an official visit to China， on September 22， 2004. Song Jian said， the Chinese Government has always paid great attention to developing Sino-Japanese friendly relations. It is very important to build up mutual trust between the people of China and Japan. The Chinese Government and people of various circles including the CJFA have done a great deal of work to enhance mutual trust between our two peoples. He expressed the hope that the Speaker at his important leading post would continue to play a positive role in developing a sound Sino-Japanese relationship for the fundamental interests of our two peoples and the long-term development of our two countries.

Chairman Jia Qinglin Meets with JCFC Honorary President Masaharu Gotoda

Jia Qinglin， chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)， met with Masaharu Gotoda， honorary president of the Japan-China Friendship Centre (JCFC) and former Japanese deputy prime minister， and his party on October 27， 2004. They were visiting Beijing at the invitation of the China-Japan Friendship Association (CJFA). Jia Qinglin highly praised the valuable contributions Gotoda， well-known Japanese statesman， has made to the advancement of Sino-Japanese friendly relations and expressed appreciation of him who still works hard for the cause of friendship between the two countries despite of his advanced age of 90. Jia Qinglin recalled the marked progress won in Sino-Japanese relations through the concerted efforts by the governments and people of China and Japan since the two countries normalized diplomatic relations. He pointed out， the development of Sino-Japanese relations has not only brought real benefits to the people of our two countries， but also made important contributions to peace， stability and development in Asia and the world at large.

Present at the meeting were CPAFFC President Chen Haosu， Deputy Secretary General of the CPPCC National Committee Li Changjian， Vice Foreign Minster Wu Dawei， CJFA Vice President Chen Yongchang， Japanese Ambassador to China Koreshige Anami and others.

Russian Giant Oil Painting Shown in Beijing

To mark the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia， a giant oil painting entitled Great China by Ilya Glazunov， Russian people’s artist， was exhibited in Beijing on October 11， 2004.

It took the 74-year-old Glazunov two years to complete the 19.5 x 7.5-metre painting. The painter， with unique conception and magic strokes， depicted three important periods in China’s history: the unification of China by the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty， the flourishing Tang Dynasty and the contemporary China. The painting reflected the artist’s understanding of the long history and splendid culture of China， and expressed his love for the Chinese culture and Russian people’s friendly sentiments for the Chinese people.

The opening ceremony of the exhibition， jointly sponsored by the CPAFFC， the China-Russia Friendship Association (CRFA) and the Russian Embassy in China， was held at the Huabin International Mansion in Beijing on the morning of October 11. Present at the ceremony were Ismail Amat， vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress， Li Hui， assistant foreign minister， Wang Yunze， vice CPAFFC president， Liu Shu and Luo Bin， vice CRFA presidents， Igor Rogachev， Russian ambassador to China， diplomats of the Russian Embassy and representatives from various circles in the capital. CPAFFC Vice President Wang Yunze and Ambassador Rogachev spoke at the ceremony.

CPAFFC Delegation Attends 2004 PPI Worldwide Conference

Invited by the People to People International (PPI) of the United States， the CPAFFC sent a delegation to attend its 16th Worldwide Conference held in Baveno， Italy from October 11 to 18， 2004. More than 200 delegates from 23 countries and regions participated in the conference. The theme of conference was “Bridging Cultures in a Changing World”. Mary Eisenhower， president and CEO， and Richard Berkley， chairman of the Board of Directors of the PPI， and Francesco Paolo Fulci， former Italian Ambassador to the United Nations， attended and spoke at the opening session.

Fifty-five Years of Sino-Romanian Diplomatic Relations Marked

A reception was held by the CPAFFC in Beijing on October 22 to mark the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Romania. CPAFFC President Chen Haosu and Romanian Ambassador to China Viorel Isticioaia Budura， spoke at the reception.

Fifty-fifth Sino-Slovakian Diplomatic Ties Marked

The CPAFFC and the China-EU Association jointly held a reception on October 25， 2004 to mark the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Slovakia. CPAFFC President Chen Haosu and Slovakian Charge d’Affaires Ad Interim Martin Podstavek spoke at the reception. CPAFFC Vice President Su Guang， representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs， the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China， the Ministry of Commerce， the China Institute of International Studies， and other departments concerned， and diplomats of the Slovakian Embassy in China attended the reception.

Reception in Celebration of 40th Anniversary of Diplomatic Ties Between China and Zambia Held

The CPAFFC and the Chinese-African People’s Friendship Association (CAPFA) jointly held a reception in Beijing on October 29 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Zambia. Xu Jialu， vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress， Yang Fuchang， president of the CAPFA， Li Hui， assistant foreign minister， and diplomats of the Zambian Embassy in China， among about 70 people from the departments concerned， attended the reception. CPAFFC President Chen Haosu and Zambian Ambassador to China David Clifford Saviye spoke on the occasion..

International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People Marked

The CPAFFC hosted a reception in Beijing on November 29 to commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Raidi， vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee attended the reception. Tomur Dawamat， adviser to the CPAFFC and president of the China-Arab Friendship Association， and Zakaria Abdul-Rahim， Palestinian ambassador to China， spoke at the reception. Also present were CPAFFC Vice President Wang Yunze， diplomatic envoys of the Mission of the League of Arab States and diplomats of the embassies of Arab countries in China as well as personages from relevant departments， totaling over 120.