Five Associations for Friendship with Asian and African Countries Hold Joint Annual Meeting

On February 28， the Chinese-African People’s Friendship Association (CAPFA)， the Chinese-Arab Friendship Association (CAFA)， the China-ASEAN Association， the China-India Friendship Association (CIFA) and the China-Republic of Korea Friendship Association (CROKFA) jointly held their annual meeting and the Spring Festival reception in Beijing.

Abul’ahat Abdulrixit， Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and President of the CAPFA， Tomur Dawamat， former Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and President of the CAFA， Gu Xiulian， former Vice Chairwoman of the NPC Standing Committee and President of the China-ASEAN Association， Jiang Zhenghua， former Vice Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee and President of the CIFA; Luo Haocai， former Vice Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee and President of the CROKFA， and Chen Haosu， CPAFFC President， as well as about 300 council members of the five friendship associations attended both events， while ambassadors and diplomats from 65 Asian and African countries attended the reception.

In 2010， the five friendship associations received 39 delegations from 33 Asian and African countries with a total of 422 people， sent 36 delegations (789 person/ times) to 27 countries and organized 35 large-scale activities.

The work of the CAPFA in the past year included the selection of “China-Africa Friendship Award — Top 10 Chinese Enterprises in Africa”; setting up the Chinese Enterprises’ Charity Fund for Africa for poverty alleviation; sponsoring the Bringing Light Tour to Malawi and Zimbabwe to provide free cataract surgery for over 600 patients; organizing African diplomatic envoys in China to make speech tours of Xinjiang and Xiamen; holding a training course for leading members of African friendship-with-China organizations， the China-Africa Cooperation Forum — the Second Chinese-African Non-governmental Organizations Conference， and the Dialogue between the Chinese and African Local Governments.

The CAFA jointly sponsored the Third China-Arab Friendship Conference in Tripoli， Libya， to further consolidate the mechanism of cooperation and exchanges between China and Arab countries. CPAFFC President Chen Haosu attended the 15th Conference of Arab Towns Organization (ATO) in Kuwait to sign a memorandum of cooperation， opening a channel for holding the China-Arab City Forum within the framework of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum. The CAFA organized Arab diplomatic envoys in China and representatives of the Arab League residing in Beijing on investigation tours of Xinjiang， and sent delegations of the Xinjiang local government， entrepreneurs and art groups to visit Libya and Saudi Arabia.

The China-ASEAN Association took part in the Fifth Conference of China-ASEAN People-to-People Friendship Organizations held in Singapore， further promoting the non-governmental mechanism of “10+1” cooperation， sponsored a series of forums on the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area to promote economic integration， organized activities in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Vietnam such as the China-Vietnam Friendship Forum， the Friendship Gala of Chinese and Vietnamese People， and held a series of activities including a motor tour of China， a badminton demonstration match and a golf match， and the presentation of a jade statue of Guanyin (Goddess of Mercy) as a gift to the Thai people to mark the 35th anniversary of China- Thailand diplomatic ties.

Friendship work related to India: During his visit to India， Premier Wen Jiabao conferred the China-India Friendship Award upon 11 Indians. The China-India Joint Medical Mission gave free medical services respectively in China and India， showing care for and helping disadvantaged groups in both countries. The China-India Forum and the China-India Dialogue were held. The Second China International Yoga Conference was held to promote cultural exchanges. A Chinese youth delegation was sent to attend the Fifth International Youth Peace Festival.

Work related to the Republic of Korea: The China-ROK Expert Joint Research Committee successfully completed the first stage of its work. Premier Wen Jiabao and ROK President Lee Myung-bak met with representatives of the two sides in Seoul and encouraged them to continue to play an important role. Four hundred Chinese and ROK young people participated in exchanges of visits. Activities such as the China-Japan-ROK Friendship Cities Conference， the China-Japan-ROK Cultural Exchange Forum， the Chinese University Students’ Korean Language Speech Contest， and the get-together of the Chinese and the ROK media were organized.

After the general meeting， each association held separate meetings to discuss its work in depth.