China-Central Asia Friendship Association Founded

The China-Central Asia Friendship Association (CCAFA) held its inaugural meeting in Beijing on December 18, 2007.

The CCAFA, founded at the initiation of the CPAFFC, is a national non-profit social organization with legal person status. It aims to further expand people-to-people contact between China and the five Central Asian countries, namely Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, enhance regional cooperation and deepen good-neighbourly relations so as to consolidate the social foundation for lasting friendship between China and these countries and promote common development.

The meeting appointed Ismail Amat, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, honorary president of the Association and elected Zhang Deguang, former vice foreign minister and former secretary general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, its president, Zhou Xiaopei, Li Jianping, Zhang Zhiming, Guan Hengguang, Fu Quanzhang its vice presidents, and Lu Aizhen its secretary general. The meeting examined and approved the statutes of the Association. Vice Chairman Ismail Amat, CPAFFC President Chen Haosu, Assistant Foreign Minister Li Hui attended the meeting and spoke on the occasion. Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi sent a message of congratulations. Present at the meeting were more than 70 members of the CCAFA and representatives of various circles.

In his speech, Vice Chairman Ismail Amat expressed his hope that the CCAFA would work in close coordination with the governmental diplomacy, bring into full play its bridging role as a nongovernmental organization, and make due contributions to deepening mutual understanding and traditional friendship between the people of China and the Central Asian countries and furthering exchanges and cooperation in various fields by blazing new ways in an enterprising spirit.

In his letter of congratulations, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi pointed out, in the past 15 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China has maintained close high-level contact and built deep political mutual trust with the Central Asian countries. It has actively carried out mutually beneficial cooperation in the economic, trade, energy, transport, cultural, educational and other fields, collaborated well in the United Nations and within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and become good neighbours, friends and partners not only in name but in reality as well. The founding of the CCAFA marks the beginning of a new period of development in nongovernmental exchanges between China and the Central Asian countries, which will give great impetus to the deepening of mutual understanding and traditional friendship and the promotion of the good-neighbourly cooperative relations between the Chinese and Central Asian peoples.

When addressing the meeting, Assistant Foreign Minister Li Hui said, the Central Asian countries border on China. It is an important content of China’s peripheral diplomacy to push for all-round development of relations with these countries. As important supplement to governmental diplomacy, nongovernmental diplomacy is playing an increasingly significant role. He expressed the belief that promoted and guided by the CCAFA, people-to-people exchanges between China and the Central Asian countries would make better and faster development and lend strong impetus to the development of state-to-state relations of friendship and cooperation.

CPAFFC President Chen Haosu emphasized in his speech, as a national people’s organization engaged in nongovernmental diplomacy, the CPAFFC attaches great importance to developing friendly and cooperative relations with the five Central Asian countries. In order to mobilize people of all circles to make joint efforts to carry out work in this area, the CPAFFC, in the past few years, has always longed to set up an organization specialized in the work for friendship with Central Asia to carry out cooperation in all fields. We have realized our wish today. He expressed his conviction that the CCAFA would and is able to make contributions to enhancing mutual understanding and friendship between the people of China and the Central Asian countries and promote nongovernmental friendly cooperation in the economic, trade, educational, scientific, technological, personnel exchange and other fields.

CCAFA President Zhang Deguang said, bordering on the western region of China, the five Central Asian countries are China’s important neighbours. The year 2007 sees the 15th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and these countries. The launching of the CCAFA has added a coordination institute for promoting China-Central Asia cooperation and will surely push forward the development of mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields.

After the inaugural meeting, the CPAFFC and the CCAFA jointly hosted a reception. Vice Chairman Ismail Amat, CPAFFC President Chen Haosu, Assistant Foreign Minister Li Hui, CCAFA President Zhang Deguang, diplomats from the Embassies of Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in China and B. K. Nurgaliev, secretary general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, attended the reception. Ambassadors or their representatives of the five countries delivered speeches of congratulations and expressed their willingness to give support and assistance to the work of the CCAFA. Also present at the reception were members of the CCAFA and personages of various circles, totaling 150. The reception proceeded in a warm and friendly atmosphere, at which the Chinese and foreign guests also watched excellent art performances.