Cherish the Memory of CSF First Chairman Juan Antonio Samaranch

I felt very sad when learning that Juan Antonio Samaranch， an old friend of the Chinese people， had passed away. Thanks to my work， I was fortunate to have close contacts with Samaranch for five years. His brilliant political vision， amiable character and magnanimity in handling things left a deep impression and earned my respect and admiration.

In 2000， the leaders of the Chinese and Spanish governments decided to establish the China-Spain Forum (CSF) with a view to promoting an in-depth， all-round friendly and cooperative relationship. Hu Qili and Chen Haosu respectively serve as chairman and executive chairman of the Chinese Committee of the CSF. After retiring as president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in July 2001， Samaranch became the first chairman of the Spanish Committee in November of that year. From 2003 to 2007 the CSF held four meetings respectively in Beijing， Barcelona， Shanghai and Madrid. Samaranch devoted himself to the cause of Spain-China friendship and cooperation and made important contributions to the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Since its founding， the heads of state and government on both sides have attached great importance to the CSF and supported its work. Chairman Samaranch lived up to the high expectations of the leaders and people of the two countries. He and his Chinese counterparts， through five years’ joint efforts， built the CSF into an important platform for promoting cooperation in the fields of politics， economy， culture， sports and law and between different localities and cities， vigorously promoting all-round development of bilateral relations. The influence and role of the CSF are now recognized by the two governments and people of various circles.The national leadership has met with the Chinese and Spanish participants at the various CSF meetings. Chinese Vice Premiers Zeng Peiyan and Hui Liangyu and Spanish First Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de La Vega attended these meetings and gave important speeches. The conclusive documents adopted at the meetings gave constructive guidance and established a basic policy direction for all-round development of relations with rich results.

Samaranch played a vital role in the establishment and development of the CSF and endowed it with unique appeal and influence. His passionate efforts could be seen throughout the course of its development.

He displayed his political wisdom in handling CSF affairs and helped ensure its smooth working. I remember that， at a meeting held in Spain， Hu Qili was not invited to be seated on the rostrum because of a complicated seating arrangement. Samaranch spotted the problem the moment he was seated on the rostrum. He bypassed the complicated protocol procedure and directly waved to Hu Qili to come onto the rostrum， thus helping keep the balance of the delegates of the two sides there and ensured the success of the meeting.

Samaranch was particularly keen on promoting sports exchanges. At his suggestion， a Sports Committee of the CSF was set up and he served as the Spanish co-chairman. He attended all of its meetings， contributed to making policies for promoting sports exchanges between the two countries and participated in a meeting on sports cooperation just days before the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. At the meeting， he received a Decoration of Supreme Honor from the Chinese Olympic Committee.

I particularly admired his firm character. Once he set goals， he would press forward with an indomitable will. I remember that， when the CSF third meeting was held in Shanghai in 2006， the 86-year-old Samaranch was bleeding from the nose when he got out of the plane; but he insisted on attending all the meetings after brief hospital emergency treatment. At the meeting’s opening ceremony， he affirmed that the Beijing Games would display to the world China’s profound changes that had led to the majority of the Chinese people leading an affluent life that none could have previously predicted. The 2010 Shanghai Expo would show China’s vigor and vitality to the world again and act as a bridge to link it with other countries and regions in the world. He expressed his belief that Spain would participate in the Expo on a scale compatible with the increasingly close friendly relations between the peoples of the two countries. He wished the Beijing Olympic Games and the Shanghai Expo complete success which he said would further demonstrate China’s increasingly important role in today’s world.

After the end of the meeting， despite his advanced age， he insisted on attending a seminar on economic cooperation between China and Spain in Hangzhou. He paid great attention to the cooperation between the business circles of the two countries. He said that he was happy to meet the people from the business circles of both countries in beautiful Hangzhou. They had an unshakable responsibility to promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation. China was a great country and many Spanish enterprises had already entered its market. He hoped that more Spanish enterprises would come to China to make investment and also more Chinese enterprises would go to Spain to develop their business.

Samaranch loved China， sympathized with China and supported China. Despite the advancing years， he still worked for friendship and cooperation between the two countries. He was an old and good friend of the Chinese people. I will never forget his bright smile when he received the medal and certificate of Friendship Ambassador conferred upon him by He Luli， then vice chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress， and CPAFFC President Chen Haosu.

During the last days of his life， in March 4， 2010 he accepted the Foundation Prize issued by the Spanish China Council Foundation—the sponsor of the Spanish side of the CSF. One month later， he passed way.

Samaranch is gone， but he has left us a rich spiritual heritage. We can feel it a great relief to tell him that under the inspiration of his spirit the cause of China-Spain friendship and cooperation will continue to develop.

We will forever cherish his memory.

The author is former secretary general of the China-Spain Forum.