Ｒｅｃｅｐｔｉｏｎ Ｍａｒｋｓ Ｓｅｃｏｎｄ Ａｎｎｉｖｅｒｓａｒｙ ｏｆ Ｃｈｉｎａ－Ｓｐａｉｎ Ｆｏｒｕｍ

The CPAFFC gave a reception on July 22 to mark the 2nd anniversary of the establishment of the China-Spain Forum. The visiting Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was present at the reception.

At the initiation of the governments of the two countries， the China-Spain Forum was set up in July 2003 and has convened two meetings， one in Beijing in December of the same year and the other in Barcelona in November 2004. Hu Qili， former vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference， is the chairman of the Forum’s Chinese Committee and Juan Antonio Samaranch， former president of the International Olympic Committee， chairman of the Forum’s Spanish Committee. The Forum aims at enhancing and activating exchanges in the political， economic， cultural， sports and other fields between the two countries.

Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero said in his speech， the China-Spain Forum has witnessed the friendly relations between the two peoples. The Spanish Government gives great support to the development of the Forum and fully affirms the role it has played in furthering bilateral relations. He expressed the belief that the third meeting of the Forum to be held in Shanghai next year would be a full success.

Chairman Hu Qili said， the China-Spain Forum has served as a good platform for further strengthening exchanges and cooperation in a wide range of areas between the two countries， and a bridge for exchanging information and views， expanding consensus and deepening cooperation. The Chinese side wishes to continue to perfect the structure of the Forum and let it play a greater role in promoting bilateral cooperation through our pioneering and innovative work in organizing activities for the Forum.

Chen Haosu， executive chairman of the Forum’s Chinese Committee and president of the CPAFFC， presented a collection of the documents of the Forum to Prime Minister Zapatero.

The Spanish government delegation that came with the Spanish Prime Minister， Spanish Ambassador to China J. Sebastian De Erice， Chinese Ambassador to Spain Qiu Xiaoqi， representatives from the ministries and departments concerned， organizations and enterprises， among more than 100 people from various circles， attended the reception presided over by CPAFFC Vice President Liu Zhiming.