On September 3, 2024, the 2024 Legislators Forum for Friendly Exchanges, hosted by the CPAFFC, took place in Shanghai. The forum’s theme was “Revitalizing Global Partnership for Sustainable Development”. Wang Dongming, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech. Huang Lixin, Chair of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress, Yang Wanming, President of the CPAFFC, and Nyonblee Kanrnga-Lawrence, President Pro-Tempore of the Senate of the Republic of Liberia, also delivered speeches at the ceremony. Vice President Shen Xin presided over the opening ceremony. The forum was attended by 75 representatives from the National People’s Congress and local people’s congresses, as well as nearly 50 legislators and former legislators from 43 countries/regions across five continents.
Wang Dongming highlighted President Xi Jinping’s initiatives for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and the three global initiatives, advocating for a multipolar world that promotes equality and orderly development, as well as an inclusive and mutually beneficial approach to economic globalization. He noted that the reform strategies from the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee will advance Chinese modernization and provide broader development opportunities for countries/regions worldwide. He urged fellow legislators to act as guardians of global security, promoters of global development, practitioners of global cooperation, advocates for global openness, and champions of cultural exchange. He also emphasized the importance of creating sound policies and a robust legal environment to facilitate pragmatic cooperation across diverse sectors.
Huang Lixin stated that Shanghai serves as a vital window for the world to observe China. Currently, in alignment with President Xi Jinping’s strategic positioning, Shanghai is focusing on the construction of the “Five Centers” and accelerating its development into a world-class socialist modern metropolis. This effort aims to make a positive contribution to global peace, stability, friendly relations among peoples, and socio-economic development. Huang emphasized that the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress actively practices the significant concept of whole-process democracy, striving to provide strong legal guarantees for the construction of a people-centered city. He expressed a desire to further strengthen friendly exchanges and pragmatic cooperation with parliaments from countries and regions worldwide, deepening mutual learning and support across diverse fields to jointly promote high-quality development.
Yang Wanming emphasized that enhancing friendship among peoples, promoting international cooperation, maintaining world peace, and facilitating common development are the core missions of the CPAFFC. Fostering people-to-people ties to enhance state-to-state relations is the guiding principle of the CPAFFC, and it is also what inspired the establishment of the Legislators Forum for Friendly Exchanges. He expressed a commitment to work together to transform the forum into a platform for dialogue, mutually beneficial cooperation, and fostering closer ties between peoples. Yang encouraged all participants to utilize the forum to write a new chapter in friendly exchanges and cooperation between China and other nations, revitalizing global partnerships for sustainable development and working towards building a community with a shared future for humanity, thus better benefiting the peoples of all countries.
Nyonblee Kanrnga-Lawrence remarked that Liberia appreciates the significant support the People’s Republic of China has provided since the establishment of diplomatic relations, particularly in areas such as infrastructure development, education, healthcare, and economic growth. The Legislators Forum for Friendly Exchanges and related activities offer an excellent opportunity for legislators from different countries to establish connections and share experiences, illustrating that China’s success stories are rooted in steadfast vision and belief. She stressed that achieving sustainable development necessitates long-term goals, tailored development models for individual countries, policy coherence, widespread citizen participation, and strong execution capabilities. She expressed hope that the forum would help participants from all countries strengthen friendships with China and deepen cooperation.
Participants engaged in lively discussions on a range of topics, including global development and economic recovery, global security and lasting peace, inclusive mutual learning and cultural diversity, high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and global partnerships for sustainable development, social equity and common prosperity, democracy and the rule of law, climate change and environmental protection, and poverty eradication and sustainable development.
Prior to the forum, the Shanghai municipal government organized visits for foreign guests to several significant locations, including the conference hall of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress, the Pudong Reform and Opening-up Theme Exhibition, the Memorial of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Shanghai Tower, COMAC Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) Co., Ltd., Wufang Village, the Dongtan Bird National Nature Reserve, the Shanghai Aquatic Wildlife Conservation and Research Center, and the Sino-Dutch Modern Agricultural Innovation Park, allowing visitors to gain firsthand insights into Shanghai’s practices of Chinese-style modernization.
