A Bosom Friend Afar Brings A Distant Land Near

In 1999， I joined the Vaud-Shaanxi Association （VSA） that had been founded by Mr. Simon Chappuis in 1986， and got the opportunity to make contact with the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries （CPAFFC） for the first time.

Since then， the VSA has established friendly and cooperative relations with the CPAFFC and successfully sent its first group of visitors to China with its aid. A variety of activities has been gradually developed， especially mutual visits and cultural exchanges （children’s drama， Chinese food festival， peasant painting， paper cuts， etc.）.

The generous and effective help offered by the CPAFFC and its branches located in various regions of China make it an important partner for cooperation. Without it， neither the exploratory tourist projects nor the special visits to small and medium-sized enterprises， industries， wineries and the building industry could have gone so smoothly.

The Swiss-Chinese Association （SCA） started to get help and support from the CPAFFC much earlier than the VSA， which was absorbed by the French Section of the SCA （FSSCA） in early 2010. It had developed many cooperative projects and maintained good relations with the Chinese partners， including pediatricians in Nanjing， company managers in Baotou， people of the Bai， Uygur and Hui ethnic groups， peasants in Jingyang County of Shaanxi， tea makers in Guizhou and architects in Shanghai.

The CPAFFC has satisfied our wishes to visit places we usually couldn’t reach， including a psychiatric hospital of the social medical center， factories， wine estates and paddy fields， rural sceneries， gardens， museums and natural reserves.

After the reform and opening up in China in late 1970s， Swiss people thought bilateral exchanges would gradually decrease， but the result was just the opposite. Over the past three decades， cooperation between the two sides has been gradually expanded. China has attracted more attention and people have shown more interest in visiting China.

Although the Swiss Federal Government has been strengthening cooperation with China since the beginning of the century， it’s still difficult to meet everyone’s needs. The expanding area of cooperation has stimulated participation of more provinces， municipalities， autonomous regions and organizations such as the Bureau of Economic Development， professional teams， industrial science and technology parks and arts organizations， so that more people choose to file directly applications to the friendship associations in Switzerland.

Provincial and municipal friendship associations as well as other local cooperative partners of the CPAFFC often ask us to find a suitable friendship city candidate in Switzerland. But few cities in our country have sufficient human and financial resources and the wish to engage in this activity.

This is the reason why we usually suggest discussing cooperation on particular projects. It’s easy to sign a friendship-city agreement， but to implement the agreement is very difficult. The CPAFFC understands the situation very well.

Associations in Switzerland were very fortunate to have had the opportunity to receive delegations introduced by the CPAFFC， including many senior Chinese officials. These visits also gave me a chance to learn more about my own country through visiting different places and companies including relationships that I had never known before and the talented people of all circles in Switzerland.

The Chinese government and the CPAFFC have attached great importance to organizations such as the SCA and the FSSCA， because they deeply appreciate the uniqueness and diversity of direct exchanges between associations and the special diplomatic ties established at the same time.

The Chinese cooperative partners attach great importance to our associations. For example， during his visit to Switzerland in 2013， Premier Li Keqiang had a personal meeting with members and representatives of the Swiss friendship associations.

Now， it’s important for us to know more about China’s progress and development. Members of our association and part of the general public in Switzerland often ask us about China’s current situation. The SCA and the FSSCA are willing to present the modern China completely， thoroughly， truly and respectfully.

As representatives of the two Swiss friendship associations， there are so many places throughout China for us to explore， from Heilongjiang to Tibet， from Shanghai to Kashgar in Xinjiang. Such prospects will inspire the SCA and the FSSCA to have further and long term cooperation with the CPAFFC as well as its leadership and cooperative partners. Sincere thanks to the CPAFFC！

March 12， 2014