Ｆｉｆｔｙ Ｙｅａｒｓ ｏｆ Ｃｈｉｎａ－Ｓｒｉ Ｌａｎｋａ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ

The year 2007 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Sri Lanka， and is also the Year of China-Sri Lanka Friendship designated by the governments of the two countries. On this occasion， the CPAFFC and the Sri Lankan Embassy in China jointly held a celebration reception at the Diaoyutai State Guest House on the evening of February 28， 2007. Jia Qinglin， chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)， and the visiting Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa were present at the reception.

China-Sri Lanka friendly contacts have a long history. In Chinese historical records China called Sri Lanka the Lion Country. In 410 AD Chinese Buddhist Monk Faxian of the Jin Dynasty went from India to Sri Lanka where he stayed for two years， and brought back many Buddhist scriptures and wrote the book Record of Buddhist Kingdoms. Zheng He， navigator of the Ming Dynasty， had been to Sri Lanka many times. In the 15th century， a Sri Lankan prince visited Beijing. On his way home he settled down in Quanzhou of Fujian Province and was given the surname Shi by the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. His descendants continued to stay in Quanzhou and Taiwan. In 1950 the Sri Lankan Government recognized new China. On February 7， 1957 the two countries established diplomatic relations， turning a new chapter in China-Sri Lanka friendship. Since then， the two countries have kept friendly relations with frequent high level exchanges.

The reception was presided over by CPAFFC President Chen Haosu. CPPCC Chairman Jia Qinglin and Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa spoke on the occasion.

Jia Qinglin， on behalf of the Chinese Government and people expressed his sincere congratulations on the 50th anniversary of China-Sri Lanka diplomatic ties and the China-Sri Lanka Friendship Year. He reviewed the course of the development of China-Sri Lanka relations and affirmed the fruits of the cooperation between the two countries in various fields. He said， China is willing to work together with Sri Lanka to earnestly materialize the extensive consensus reached at the talks between President Hu Jintao and President Rajapaksa， and push forward China-Sri Lanka all-round cooperative partnership of sincere mutual support and ever-lasting friendship.

In his speech， President Rajapaksa spoke highly of China-Sri Lanka friendship and cooperative partnership of mutual support， and said， Sri Lanka will make joint efforts with China to promote the existing friendly relations to an even higher level.

Before the reception， Chairman Jia Qinglin and President Rajapaksa visited the photo exhibition on the 50th anniversary of China-Sri Lanka diplomatic relations. At the reception Chairman Jia Qinglin and President Rajapaksa drew winning numbers for the Knowledge Quiz on Sri Lanka. The five winners would have a five-day free travel to Sri Lanka. The quiz which lasted one month was jointly sponsored by the CPAFFC and the Sri Lankan Embassy in China and organized by the reading channel of sina. com. According to the statistics， the amount of browsing through the quiz was averagely 30，000 person/times every day， and the accumulated amount of browsing was more than 700，000 person/times. The number of participants in the activity accumulated to 60，000 person/times， covering 26 Chinese provinces， cities and regions. The Knowledge Quiz on Sri Lanka helped the youngsters as well as all the Chinese people increase their knowledge about Sri Lanka and enhance the friendship between the two peoples.

At the reception the Chinese and Sri Lankan art troupes gave wonderful performances.

Over 550 Chinese and Sri Lankan representatives of various circles attended the reception.