Ｄｅｌｅｇａｔｉｏｎ ｏｆ Ｇｅｒｍａｎ Ｍｅｍｂｅｒｓ ｏｆ Ｐａｒｌｉａｍｅｎｔ Ｖｉｓｉｔｓ Ｃｈｉｎａ

At the invitation of the CPAFFC， a 13-member delegation of German members of parliament paid a visit to Beijing， Chongqing， Yichang， Wuhan and Shanghai from October 31 to November 9， 2004.

The delegation was organized and sent by German Hanns Seidal Foundation. The members of the delegation mainly came from the youth organization of the German Christian Social Union， among whom two were members of the European Parliament and five were members of the German Federal Assembly. The Hanns Seidal Foundation， an important political foundation in Germany， has great influence on the German political circles， especially in Bavaria State. The Foundation has been a cooperative partner of the CPAFFC for many years.

CPAFFC President Chen Haosu met with and entertained the delegation. Chen said， China-Germany relations maintain a good momentum of development. He hoped that the two sides would strengthen contacts and contribute to world peace， reconciliation and prosperity. He pointed out， young people are the future of a country. In the future they should learn political wisdom such as shown in the reconciliation between Germany and France after the Second World War from the European statesmen of the older generation so as to bring about a better future for the world. Manfred Weber， head of the delegation and member of the European Parliament， said at the banquet， we， the German younger generation， have great interest in China. China is unfamiliar to us， but we follow with great interest and admire the development of China in recent years. China， a permanent member of the Security Council of the UN， shoulders great responsibility for the security of the world. Germany and Europe are willing to strengthen cooperation and have dialogues with China.

In his meeting with the delegation， Li Junru， vice president of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC)， briefed the delegation about the characteristics and functions of the School and answered the questions raised by the delegation. Through enthusiastic discussion about such problems as how to look at and solve the gradually enlarged difference between city and countryside and among regions in China; how to understand the essence of Marxism; the training system of the CPC， the relationship between the CPC and other democratic parties， private businessmen joining the CPC， etc.， the members of the delegation came to have a full understanding of the policies of the CPC.

The delegation paid an official call on Wen Zhenshun， deputy director-general of the Department of European Affairs of the Foreign Ministry. Wen spoke highly of the Sino-European and Sino-German relations. He said， China hopes to speed up the building of the Sino-European strategic partnership. China welcomes a strong unified EU to appear in the world. Sino-German relations are developing smoothly in all fields， and the two countries keep a satisfying coordination and cooperation on many international issues.

In Chongqing， Wuhan and Shanghai， the delegation respectively met with Jin Lie， vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the Chongqing Municipal People’s Congress， Zhang Hongxiang， vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the Hubei Provincial People’s Congress， and Zhou Muyao， vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress. The two sides discussed the system of China’s people’s congress， the development of China’s western areas， the construction of the Three Gorges project， local economic construction， etc.The delegation also visited universities and middle schools， rural areas， large enterprises and the Three Gorges project.

The members of the delegation quite agreed to a Chinese common saying “Seeing is believing”.They said that some European media looked at China’s development from a one-sided view. Through the visit， they came to know the true picture of a developing country: Its economy is growing vigorously; its people are full of confidence in the future， but it is still confronted with various kinds of problems. Above all， instead of sidestepping problems， people can soberly analyze these problems.

Before leaving China， Mr. Weber， head of the delegation， said that their visit in China was a full success. He thanked the CPAFFC for its invitation and the wonderful schedule of their visit. He said that China had left deep impressions on them， and back home they would tell the German people what China really is， which would help Germany adopt more rational policies towards China. He hoped that members of parliament of the two countries would increase contacts， strengthen mutual trust and contribute to the steady development of the bilateral relations.