Ｃｅｎｔｒａｌ Ａｍｅｒｉｃａｎ Ｆｅｄｅｒａｔｉｏｎ ｏｆ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ ｗｉｔｈ Ｃｈｉｎａ Ｆｏｕｎｄｅｄ

The preparatory meeting for the founding of the Central American Federation of Friendship with China (CAFFC) was held in the capital of Nicaragua from March 23 to 24. The meeting was convened to implement the Declaration of the Forum on China-Central America People-to-People Friendship held in Mexico last year. After two days of discussions and deliberations， the Central American Federation of Friendship with China was inaugurated. Juan Manuel de Jesus Flores Cornejo， president of the Salvadorian Association of Friendship with the People’s Republic of China (SAFPRC)， was elected president. The headquarters of the Federation is in Panama City， capital of Panama. Wang Hongqiang， deputy director general of the Department of American and Oceanian Affairs of the CPAFFC and secretary general of the China-Latin America Friendship Association who was invited to attend the meeting read out the letter of congratulations from CPAFFC Vice President Li Xiaolin， in which the Vice President expressed CPAFFC’s willingness to cooperate with the CAFFC to deepen the friendship between the people of China and Central America and to make efforts to forge friendship and realize the normalization of relations between China and Central American countries.

On the morning of March 23， the opening ceremony of the meeting was held at the Hotel Best Western Las Mercedes， Managua. The Chinese national flag was hung on the wall of the meeting hall and the Chinese national anthem was played. Present at the opening ceremony were Bayardo Arce Castano， adviser to the Nicaraguan President and president of the Nicaraguan Association of Friendship with the People’s Republic of China and her People (PRO-NICACHINA for short)， Dr. Jose Pasos， vice president of the PRO-NICACHINA and comptroller general of the Republic of Nicaragua， Alberto Guevera Obregon， Nicaraguan finance and public credit minister， Liana Lacayo， Nicaraguan development， industry and commerce vice minister， Juan Manuel de Jesus Flores Cornejo， president of Salvadorian Association of Friendship with the People’s Republic of China， Ajax S. Delgado Q， secretary of the PRO-NICACHINA， and representatives from the friendship-with-China organizations of Honduras， Costa Rica， Panama and the South American country Paraguay. Deputy Director General Wang Hongqiang attended the opening ceremony.

Bayardo Arce Castano， adviser to the Nicaraguan President and PRO-NICACHINA president， spoke at the opening ceremony. He said， Nicaragua is far away from China. There is a lack of understanding between the two peoples. The founding of the CAFFC will provide a mechanism for communication. He continued， Nicaragua established diplomatic relations with China in 1985 during the period between 1979 and 1990 when the Sandinista National Liberation Front was in power. Later， the Sandinista National Liberation Front lost in the general election and the succeeding government severed diplomatic relations with China. In the 16 years that followed， Nicaragua missed the opportunity to share China’s valuable experience in its political， economic and social development. A few months ago， the Sandinista National Liberation Front won the mandate to govern the country again. He expressed the hope that China would help Nicaragua with its experience in the political， economic， cultural and social development and through concerted efforts， let more people know about China and recognize the People’s Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China.

Deputy Director General Wang Hongqiang gave a brief account of China’s economic development in the last two years and China’s economic and trade relations with Latin America， especially the Central American region at the opening ceremony. He emphasized that the lack of diplomatic relations between Central American countries and China has gravely hindered the development of bilateral relations. He expressed gratitude to the friendship-with-China organizations in Central American countries for their efforts to increase mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples so as to realize the normalization of relations between their respective countries and China.

Before the meeting was concluded， a joint statement was adopted， which says that all the member organizations of the CAFFC hold that the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing China and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory. They will work hard to promote the establishment of diplomatic relations and the development of trade and other relations between Central American Countries and China.