Work Together and Renew Achievement Dedicated to the 60th Anniversary of CPAFFC

How Time flies！ 2014 has come when everything happened in 2013 is still vivid in our mind. As the “Year of South Africa” in China， 2014 also coincides with the 60th anniversary of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries （CPAFFC）. SA-China People’s Friendship Association （SACPFA）， at this meaningful moment， extends our warmest congratulation to your Association.

Witnessed by the President of China， Mr. Xi Jinping and the President of South Africa， Mr. Jacob Zuma， CPAFFC and SACPFA signed a Memorandum of Understanding （MOU） at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on March 25， 2013， which is a special and memorable day for both sides， marking an official cooperation between our two Associations.

We two Associations have kept good and close relations ever since. On October 28， 2013， Mr. Tom Cao， Executive President of SACPFA， visited CPAFFC’s President， Ms. Li Xiaolin in Beijing and co-held the SA-China People’s Friendship Association banquet on October 29 in honour of the visiting of South African Deputy President Mr. Motlanthe to China， as an opportunity to promote bilateral cooperation and exchanges in economy， trade and culture in 2014， the “Year of South Africa” in China.

With CPAFFC’s support， SACPFA has also established relationship with many local friendship associations in Shanghai， Beijing， Shenyang， Anhui， Guangdong， Chongqing， Qinghai， Jiangxi， Hebei， Xiamen and Lanzhou etc.， among which we created exchange and cooperation opportunities for local organizations， companies and projects via all kinds of events.

As the most developed country in Africa， South Africa has witnessed three major leaps in relations with China over the last 15 years since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1998， from partnership to strategic partnership and to today’s comprehensive strategic partnership， which is a significant growth in bilateral relationship.

As the only people’s association for friendship with China in South Africa， SACPFA builds a new world in people-to-people diplomacy between the two countries. SACPFA absorbs elites in all walks of life in South Africa， while “go global” strategies of Chinese companies and culture also fit well in South Africa’s developmental needs. Thus， SACPFA could be the platform to facilitate bilateral cooperation， making face-to-face exchanges available.

And we two Associations working together， will definitely be a milestone in SA-China friendship cause. It will help peoples to understand each other’s value， life and way of thinking more directly and more thoroughly， achieving real cultural exchanges. On the basis of inter-working and mutual trust， exchanges in other areas such as economy and trade， technology and academic between our two Associations will be further broadened and deepened.

The march of people-to-people diplomacy is long but far-reaching， we wish to make some real contribution as we can to benefit the friendship between our two countries， and work together with comrades and friends like your Association to undertake the role of the positive energy messenger and renew achievement.