NPC Standing Committee Vice Chairperson Uyunqimg Visits Austria and Germany

At the invitation of the Austrian-Chinese Friendship Association (ACFA) and the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany， Uyunqimg， Vice Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) led a delegation to visit Austria and Germany from January 17 to 27. During her stay， Uyunqimg met with President Heinz Fischer， National Council President Barbara Prammer， Federal Council Vice President Susanne Neuwirth and Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger of Austria， and Gerda Hasselfeldt， Vice President of the German Bundestag， Matthias Roessler， President of the Saxony State Parliament， Reinhold Bocklet， First Vice President of the Bavaria State Parliament and Emilia Mueller， Bavarian State Minister for Federal and European Affairs.

The year 2011 marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Austria. Since 2006， the Austrian Government has been holding regular activities on the theme of China. Chinese President Hu Jintao and Austrian President Heinz Fischer exchanged letters of congratulations on the Year of China. On the evening of January 25， Uyunqimg and Barbara Prammer attended the opening concert for the Year of China amid a warm atmosphere in the packed Vienna Golden Hall. The Chinese and Austrian musicians and vocalists performed Chinese and foreign classical music and songs as well as songs in praise of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo， which received warm applause.

At their meeting， Vice Chairperson Uyunqimg and President Prammer reviewed the development of China-Austria relations in the past 40 years and exchanged views on furthering pragmatic cooperation. ACFA Honorary President Helmut Sohmen entertained the party.

At the same time， invited by the Austrian Federal Chamber of Commerce，CPAFFC President Chen Haosu attended the Austria-China Economic Forum and gave a speech. At the forum， Wu Ritu， Vice Chairman of the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee of the NPC， briefed participants on China’s 12th Five Year Plan.

During her visit to Germany， Uyunqimg visited a dairy farm， a family business in Bavaria State and inquired about the German Government’s agricultural subsidy policy and the operation model of the German Famers’ Association. She talked about China’s agricultural development and the 12th Five Year Plan when interviewed by reporters from the Bavarian Broadcasting Station. In her talk with Hans Zehetmair， President of the Hanns Seidel Foundation， Uyunqimg spoke highly of the active and fruitful work done by the Foundation over the years to promote people-to-people friendship between Germany and China.