CPAFFC President Lin Songtian hosts luncheon for journalists from mainstream media from home and abroad during visit to Ningxia

Liu Chang

F rom Sept 25 to 29， the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries hosted a delegation of more than 60 members— multinational corporate executives， journalists from mainstream media and youth leaders from 22 countries across all five continents — on a visit to the Ningxia Hui autonomous region， where they attended the First China （Ningxia） International Wine Culture and Tourism Expo and a symposium titled “China in My Eyes — Ningxia”.

On Sept 28， Lin Songtian， president of the CPAFFC， led the delegation for a visit to Minning town， a Juncao breeding base， a white mushroom production area and wine production bases in Jiadi and Delong. After that， he hosted a luncheon for the journalists from mainstream media from home and abroad， including Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun， the Republic of Korea’s Joongang Ilbo， Hindustan Times， El Pais （Spain）， People’s Daily Online， Xinhuanet， China Daily， Global Times and ThePaper. Lin outlined the purpose and significance of the symposium. Both the hosts and guests had a candid， in-depth and friendly discussion on topics of concern.

Lin said the visit was designed to give the world a genuine， comprehensive and objective understanding of China and to allow visitors to witness China’s development miracles and explore the future of win-win cooperation and common development. Lin named the miracles as follows：

？ The purple miracle. Ningxia has developed its world-renowned wine industry， which looks purple and is built on barren land.

？ The golden miracle. Minning town over the past 25 years has turned dry sand into golden sands that have lifted its residents out of poverty.

？ The green miracle. Ningxia has continued to promote the prevention of desertification through sand control， creating a green miracle where sandy land has been steadily reduced for more than 20 consecutive years and the ecological environment has been significantly improved.

As for why Ningxia can achieve these development miracles， Lin said that today’s Ningxia is not only economically prosperous but also ecologically beautiful. It is worthy of the name of “a Jiangnan-style area northwest of the Great Wall” — a reference to areas south of the Yangtze river known for their mild climate and lush vegetation.

The Ningxia Hui autonomous region was founded in 1958. At that time， its forest coverage rate was only 1.5 percent， but now is 15.8 percent， he said.

In 1996， the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government made an important strategic decision on cooperation in poverty alleviation between the country’s eastern and western regions. Fujian， an eastern coastal province， was responsible for providing assistance to Ningxia.

The cooperation brought new ideas and concepts to the northwestern region. Adherence to CPC leadership and the socialist system with Chinese characteristics is central to realizing the complementary advantages of Fujian and Ningxia. The development miracles of Ningxia are inseparable from the CPC’s peoplecentered governance concept and the institutional advantage of socialism with Chinese characteristics， which requires those members of society who have developed considerable wealth to help the rest of society to become more prosperous. Such achievements cannot be made without specific planning， policy support， reliance on industry and social participation.

Regarding the development prospects of the Belt and Road Initiative， Lin said， Ningxia is an important hub. Upholding the principle of achieving shared benefits through extensive consultation and joint contributions， the initiative aims to promote policy coordination， infrastructure connectivity， unimpeded trade， financial integration and closer people-to-people ties， as well as achieve win-win cooperation and common development.

In the first eight months of this year， more than 10，000 express freight trains ran between China and Europe， up 43 percent year-on-year to become a strong bond in Belt and Road cooperation. By the end of this year， the China-Laos Railway will be open to traffic. The railway network between China and ASEAN countries will be interconnected soon.

The Belt and Road Initiative originated in China and contributes to the world. It will create broader prospects for countries in Asia， Africa and Europe to further deepen connectivity， expand mutually beneficial cooperation and achieve common development.

Talking about the situation in Afghanistan and China’s role， Lin noted that in the past 20 years， the United States had invaded the country in the name of a war on terrorism. Not long ago， the US pulled its troops out of the country， a move that acknowledged total failure. Over the past two decades， the US spent more than $2 trillion in the war in Afghanistan， or more than$200 million a day. The war left more than 200，000 people dead and tens of millions displaced. It caused untold suffering to the Afghan people， broke promises with allies and left behind numerous refugees.

Besides pulling its troops out of Afghanistan， the US has also withdrawn from places in the Middle East， or implemented what it says was a strategic contraction. This shows that the US economy can no longer support its global hegemony， Lin said.

In a stark contrast， Ningxia has created a development miracle from“dry sands” to “golden sands” in the same 20 years， allowing all its people to live much better lives. It is obvious that different governments and policies led to different results， he said.

Afghanistan is an important member of the Asian family with a time-honored history， splendid civilization and rich resources. The Taliban has shown signs of commitment to peaceful development. As long as peace is achieved in Afghanistan and terrorist organizations are not allowed to undermine regional peace， China stands ready to actively share its development experience and play a constructive role in Afghanistan’s postwar reconstruction and economic recovery， Lin said.

As for current international public opinion about China， Lin noted that before 2018 China had established various forms of partnerships with 112 countries and international organizations. Back then， he said， there was no problem with China’s international image or public opinion. However， because of the accumulated political， economic and social problems in the US and the West， some American politicians have used their hegemony in international discourse to blame， smear and scapegoat China to deflect public attention from domestic problems in the US.

These moves， Lin said， have severely poisoned international public opinion. News reports reflecting the real situation in China are unable to reach the global public. In addition， the COVID-19 pandemic has blocked international personnel exchanges， leading to a decline in international public opinion about China and even forming a vicious circle in some Western countries， where “politics poisons public opinion and public opinion kidnaps politics”.

Lin said he believes that if ChinaUS relations return to rationality， international public opinion about China will improve immediately. The problem lies on the US side， he said.

On COVID-19 prevention and control， Lin noted that the virus continues to ravage the world. China is the only major economy in the world that registered positive growth last year. It is a major engine that supports the global fight against the pandemic and economic recovery. He said China puts people first， rather than capital first.

“We must coordinate epidemic prevention and control through economic and social development， and strictly prevent and control the pandemic. I believe people can understand the measures taken by China for epidemic prevention and control，” Lin said.

He expressed hope that all the visiting journalists would report to the world what they had seen， heard， thought and felt during their visit to Ningxia in a real， comprehensive and objective way， so that “people of all countries can truly see， hear and read about China’s development path， social system and values， and thereby contribute to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind”.