On May 23, in Ningbo, Yang Wanming, President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), held separate meetings with key foreign guests attending the 2025 China-CEEC Mayors Forum, including Richard Raši, Speaker of the National Council of Slovakia; Viorica Dăncilă, former Prime Minister of Romania; and Janusz Piechociński, former Deputy Prime Minister of Poland.

(Meet with Richard Raši, Speaker of the National Council of Slovakia)

President Yang extended a warm welcome to the guests from Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries and expressed his appreciation for their long-standing commitment to developing relations with China and continuous support for strengthening subnational cooperation with China. China and the CEE countries enjoy a long tradition of friendly relations. Since the launch of the China-CEEC Cooperation Mechanism in 2012, bilateral cooperation has been built on a solid foundation and continues to show broad potential for growth. China-CEEC partnership is an important part of China-EU relations. This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and the European Union, a milestone that reflects the growing frequency of dialogue and expanding shared interests. Over the past five decades, the scale and depth of cooperation between China and the EU have grown significantly. China and the EU have no face fundamental conflicts of interest or geopolitical contradictions, and the common interests far outweigh their differences. The proper positioning of China-EU relations should be as partners, with cooperation as the prevailing theme, autonomy as a shared value, and win-win development as the future direction.

(Meet with Viorica Dăncilă, former Prime Minister of Romania)

President Yang stated that the CPAFFC is ready to work hand in hand with friendly organizations in CEE countries to build more bridges for people-to-people exchanges, practical cooperation, cultural exchanges, and youth friendship, further strengthening the public foundation of bilateral ties, and contributing to the development of state-to-state relations. The CPAFFC will also promote the subnaitonal exchanges and cooperation between China and CEE countries by establishing bilateral subnational cooperation mechanisms with countries such as Slovakia, Romania, and Poland, with a view to making new contributions to fostering friendship between the peoples and advancing shared development goals.

(Meet with Janusz Piechociński, former Deputy Prime Minister of Poland)

Foreign guests congratulated China on the successful hosting of the 2025 China-CEEC Mayors Forum, and affirmed that subnational cooperation is an integral part of China-CEEC cooperation, laying the groundwork for broader diplomatic progress. They are willing to further deepen pragmatic cooperation at the subnational level in partnership with CPAFFC, to help improve people's livelihoods. It is hoped that all parties fully leverage the Mayors Forum as a key platform for city-to-city dialogue and cooperation, thus driving forward the practical development of China-CEEC relations.

Hao Zhongwei, Director-General of the Department of European and Asian Affairs of the CPAFFC, and Zhang Shengjun, Deputy Director-General of the General Office of the CPAFFC, were present at the meeting.