On June 12, 2025, the Jiangsu People-to-People Friendship Conference and the 70th Anniversary Commemoration of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (JSPAFFC) was held in Nanjing. President Yang Wanming of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) attended and addressed the event upon invitation. Governor Xu Kunlin and Vice Governor Fang Wei of Jiangsu Province, along with more than 100 international guests from 45 friendship organizations across 23 countries, also attended the event.
President Yang extended his congratulations on the 70th anniversary of the JSPAFFC and noted that, over the past seven decades, JSPAFFC has remained true to its founding mission of "promoting international cooperation, safeguarding world peace and advancing common development." Working hand in hand with counterpart organizations worldwide, it has continuously promoted exchanges and cooperation in education, science and technology, economy and trade, culture and many other fields, making significant contributions to closer people-to-people ties and deepened practical cooperation.
In October last year, President Xi Jinping met with the foreign guests attending the China International Friendship Conference and Events Marking the 70th Anniversary of CPAFFC. President Xi highly spoke of the important role of people-to-people friendship in promoting world peace and development and set out China's vision of leveraging the unique role of people-to-people diplomacy to help build a community with a shared future for mankind. Looking ahead, the CPAFFC will continue to support the work of the JSPAFFC by: capitalizing on Jiangsu's status as a leading province for opening-up to build more bridges for people-to-people exchanges and enlarge its "circle of friends"; leveraging Jiangsu's economic strength to create additional platforms for practical cooperation and a wider network of win-win partnerships; drawing on Jiangsu's rich cultural heritage to encourage cultural exchanges and compose a "symphony" of mutual learning among civilizations; and building on Jiangsu's solid record in youth exchange to foster new links among young people and pass on the "baton" of friendship to the next generation.
Governor Xu Kunlin said Jiangsu remains committed to serving China's overall diplomacy, made full use of the strength of people-to-people diplomacy and organized a wide range of exchanges to deepen friendship and cooperation with people around the world, thereby making valuable contributions to strengthening people-to-people friendship between China and foreign countries. As the province's primary platform for such efforts, the JSPAFFC has, over the past 70 years, expanded Jiangsu's international network and cultivated many "gold-standard" friendships. With Chinese-style modernization gathering pace, Jiangsu is accelerating the creation of a globally connected, two-way gateway and widening its economic, scientific, technological and cultural links—developments that open up new opportunities for international engagement. Guided by the instructions set forth by President Xi Jinping, Jiangsu will take this event as a new starting point to build more bridges for people-to-people exchanges, practical cooperation, cultural exchanges, and youth friendship, to foster economic and trade partnerships, encourage cultural mutual learning and improve people's livelihoods in a tangible way, thereby writing a new chapter in people-to-people diplomacy and contributing to the sound, stable growth of China's relations with the rest of the world.
Foreign participants shared reflections inspired by the important remarks on people-to-people diplomacy set forth by President Xi Jinping, and recounted their own experiences of cooperation with Jiangsu. They voiced unanimous support for China's Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative, and expressed the willingness to broaden cooperation with Jiangsu in economy and trade, culture, education, sport and youth programs, in a way to deepen mutual understanding and help build a community with a shared future for mankind.
The commemoration, organized by the JSPAFFC under the theme "Seven Decades of Friendship, Hand in Hand in a New Era", seeks to put into practice the guidance in the important remarks delivered by President Xi Jinping during his meeting with the foreign guests attending the China International Friendship Conference and Events Marking the 70th Anniversary of CPAFFC, review past experience, broaden global friendship and promote cooperation. It also aims to advance innovation in people-to-people diplomacy in Jiangsu and support both China's overall diplomatic efforts and the province's open-door agenda.
During the event, Xin Changxing, Secretary of the CPC Committee of Jiangsu Province, met with the visiting foreign guests, and President Yang was present at the meeting. On the sidelines, the JSPAFFC staged a series of themed activities, including the Fourth China-Japan Exchange Conference for Subnational People-to-People Friendship Organizations in the New Era, the Jiangsu-ASEAN and South Asia People-to-People Friendship Organizations Dialogue, and the Jiangsu-Europe and North Africa People-to-People Friendship Organizations Dialogue.
