Closing Remarks by Mr. Zhang Heqiang

 At the 5th Friendship Forum, 2012 Changchun

Distinguished guests, dear friends
Ladies and Gentlemen:

Thank you very much for your excellent speeches, which give us a lot of food for thoughts. Sometimes, we like attending meetings, because on these occasions we can always search and find valuable information and inspiration that will eventually benefit our future work.

8 years ago, back in 2004 when we convened our first “Friendship Forum for American and Oceania Region”, we intent to make it an innovational step, turning the usually bilateral exchange into a multilateral platform or mechanism where delegates from friendship-with-China organizations can meet, talk and enjoy.

Today, we can be very proud to say we have achieved our originally-set goal. This year included, the friendship forum has been held five times, in five different provincial capital cities and all with great success. Now it has become our department’s brand project, and we intend to improve it and make it better.

To hold a successful friendship forum, we believe, it is critical to connect it with the local festival or major event, to reflect and cater to the needs of the hosting province. We just did that this year. This year’s forum was held in conjunction with the 8th Northeast Asia Expo. The topic we prepared “Consensus, sharing and win-win cooperation” can well give full expression to the vision, ambition and aspiration of the modernization drive of Jilin Province.

Centering on the theme and subtopics of our forum, representatives of each delegation (14 in total, from 10 countries) and Chinese officials all delivered excellent presentations. Chinese Mayors being the chief administrator of their region share with us the new developments in the modernization drive of their cities. Being the audience, we can not help but being impressed with their efforts in changing the development mode and the application of green technology and stimulating domestic consumption just as what is happening in other parts of China.

Our international delegates, representing their own friendship-with-China organizations, all give out their perspectives on how their friendship societies are promoting friendship, understanding and mutually beneficial cooperation with China. The problems they are faced with and the solutions they are trying to find. The pooling of successful experience is really worthwhile and an asset to us all.

Chinese central government calls for the building of a creation-based society. Youxie is no exception, but aligning its work with this national strategy. Since Mme Li Xiaolin assumed presidency of our association in September last year, we at the friendship association intensified our efforts in innovating our work and make new creations.

Here, I would like to take this opportunity to very briefly introduce to you a new program we have just initiated not long ago. It is called “China Friendship Professional Helping Hand” Project. The idea is to recruit a Chinese professional on voluntary basis and send him to one of your countries to stay and work for 3 to 6 months, focusing on a mutually-agreed project, indentified and mutually approved by Youxie and your friendship society. We plan to earmark say 50,000 RMB Yuan to subsidize that professional. He himself of course will have to make up for the gap out of his own pocket. We believe that this project will help us tap the almost limitless potential of the friendship resources in Chinese society and citizens, we want to use them to promote our friendship cause and safeguard world peace. If any of you are interested in this project, we can start a discussion on it.

Lastly, we can pride ourselves in saying that the 5th Friendship Forum for American and Oceania Region is another success. This success can not be achieved without the selfless support from all our friends present here today. So I’d like to take this opportunity on behalf of Youxie the sponsor to express our heartfelt thanks to the following hardworking team and individuals, they are: the wonderful work team of the Department of American and Oceania Affairs of CPAFFC, (would you like to stand up and say hello) and the even more wonderful work team of the Jilin Provincial Friendship Associating, I’d like especially thank Mrs. Cheng Xufeng, its Secretary General for her hard work and leadership role. Let’s give her a warm round of applause. Of Course, I want to thank every each one of you, the respected and beloved delegates of our partner friendship societies of American and Oceania Region. And I want to thank Chinese leaders and participants in Jilin Province. Thank you so very much for your attendance and contribution.

Distinguished guests and dear friends,

As 2012 Friendship Forum is about to close, I wish this forum can serve as a new starting point to share good experience and form new consensus about our future friendship work, so as to realize win-win results. Please allow me to thank you again for you active participation. Let us make an appointment to meet in two year time from now, at 6th Friendship Forum, in one of Chinese Cities, or perhaps in your country.

Thank you! Thank you all!