On January 21, the Annual Conference of New Ideas, New wisdom, New Vision of The Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) was held in Beijing successfully. The leaders and former leaders of the Party and the state, including Lu Yongxiang, Han Qide, Chen Changzhi, Dai Bingguo，Bai Lichen, Abdul’ahat Abdurixit, Gu Xiulian, Tang Jiaxuan, Sun fuling, Luo Haocai, Xu Kuangdi, were present at the meeting. In a total of about 1000 people including the council members from the CPAFFC and its subsidiary forty-six associations for friendship with other countries or regions and the personages of various social circles attended the conference. The conference was highly evaluated.
Creative Ideas, High Efficiency and Innovation
According to the thought of President Li Xiaolin, the annual meetings of the CPAFFC and its subsidiary forty-six associations for friendship with other countries or regions was integrated for the first time. With the theme of the New Ideas, New wisdom, New Vision, a platform of communication and interaction for domestic experts with the council members and guests was built up. The numberof the meetings was reduced; the efficiency of the meeting was improved and the topic of Innovation was highlighted. On the opening ceremony, President Li Xiaolin delivered a brief speech. She indicated that concept collision would bring exciting originality and free communication would lead to acquiring breakthrough thoughts. The CPAFFC would make the festival a grand meeting of exchanging ideas, enlightening originality and sharing development.
During the conference, the outstanding innovative projects of the CPAFFC in the last two years was exhibited; by inviting the experts and scholars to attend, 9 open forums on the hot issues of the current international situation and people-to-people diplomacy were respectively held . The forums combined the practice innovation with the theory innovation organically, in order to reach the aim of enlightening thoughts, expanding vision and creating development. To stick to the principal of pragmatism and high efficiency, the conference was arranged within one day, and the speeches of the leaders only took ten minutes. To make full use of time, a lunch meeting attended by the CPAFFC leaders above deputy director-general level, directors of local foreign affairs office, and presidents of the local friendship associations was held, for introducing the main focus on the work of the CPAFFC in 2013 and exchanging the cooperative intensions. On the arrangement of the conference, the conventional form was abandoned.Information technologies were applied, including online registration, scanning two-dimension code at site, multimedia exhibition, distributing the conference material online instead of the paperwork, thus the resource was saved. The conference hall was simple and plain, without plant decoration and fancy background board. The accommodation of the representatives was not included in the conference except one buffet lunch.
Demonstration of Model Projects Leading Innovation
The outstanding innovative projects (including 8 people-to-people diplomatic projects and 3 internal construction projects) exhibited on the conference were selected from 31 candidate projects recommended by all departments of the CPAFFC through voting on internet by the staff of the CPAFFC.
Open Forums, Interactive Discussion, Enlightening Innovation
On the conference, 9 opening forums were held. Leaders, experts and scholars from various circles were invited, including Zhao Qizheng, Li Xiaolin, Chen Haosu, Liu Shu, Zhang Yunling, Sun Zhe, Liu Yongjiang, Shu Yi and Li Yang, to discuss on topics of the surrounding situation, Diaoyu Island issue, China-Russia relations, Sino-US relations, cultural exchanges with foreign countries, work of international friendship city, development of public service and service for cooperation with foreign countries. The forums availed the attendants deepening their understanding on the international situation and broaden their thoughts on people-to-people diplomacy.
The attendants highly praised for the effect of the conference. They thought that this conference had implemented the relevant requirement of the “eight provisions” of the Party Central Committee. It was a pragmatic and thrifty conference with rich content and high efficiency. It changed the traditional form of meeting, and fully demonstrated the theme of innovation. The conference showed the past achievements of innovation and conceived the ideas and direction of the future work, as well as built up a better platform of the communication and cooperation for the CPAFFC with its council members and local friendship associations. The success of the conference fully demonstrated the enterprising and innovative spirits of the CPAFFC under the leadership of the new leading group headed by President Li Xiaolin. It set a good example for innovation development of the people-to-people diplomacy work. After the conference, some attendants still would like to have more discussions and exchanges with the guest speakers.
