In the present multilateral world, mutual relations between countries are intensified on the basis of fulfilling mutual national interests. Each country contributes for the peace and development of the region they are situated. International situation calls for a power balance and oppose the hegemonism and safeguard the national interests of the backward and developing countries. On December 12, 2023, the”8th China South Asian Friendship Organisations’ forum was held,on the initiation of China People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC).It was organised in Nanchang city of Jiangxi Province.The Jiangxi Provincial People’s Government and the Organization for South Asian Regional Friendship and Cooperation (OSARFC) jointly organized the forum from December 11 to 15, 2023 with the theme of ‘Good Neighbourliness for a Shared Future’. The forum was called for “establishing a platform for the development of good relations between China and South Asia, to further promote “people-to-people”friendly exchanges, to share their experiences and enhance opportunities for mutual cooperation” One day of talks and two days of field visits were held.
A total of 20 representatives of friendship organisations from our neighbouring countries such as Nepal (5) Bangladesh (2) India (2) Pakistan (1), Maldives (1) and Sri Lanka (9)attended the conference. Representatives of the Emba ssies of Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka extended their coopera tion to the forum, while some remained there for the rest of the talks. In the past, representatives of the Indian Embassy used to attend these meetings sometimes, but this time no official representative from India attended the meeting. Many of the friendly organizations from various provinces of China and representatives of the local Chinese government attended the event. An eight-member team of them accompanied the foreign delegates for five days and coordinated all the programmes.
The forum was held in three sessions after the spectacular opening ceremony organized by Mr. Fan Yang Yang, Director General of Foreign Affairs at jiangxi Provincial People’s Government. The conference was addressed by Jiang, Vice President, CPAFFC and Xia Wenyang, Vice Governor of Jiangxi. Stating that his country is committed to the economic development of the world and the eradication of poverty with the aim of mutual benefit, he said that development is possible only in a peaceful environment and added ”it is our policy to maintain diplomatic relations without interfering in the internal affairs of others and to respect all countries on an equal basis.” He explained the schemes that are being introduced from time to time for the development of trade and commerce and cooperation with others. Anoop Bhattarai, Chairman, OSARFCC, and Surendra Kumar Yadav, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Nepal in Beijing, praised China for being a great support to south Asian countries and supporting the development of many countries.
The first session of the panel discussion, chaired by Xu Yan, Deputy Director General of Asia And Africa Affairs, CPAFFC, focused on fostering new driving forces for joint development of China and South Asia. In the second session, the delegates exchanged views on the people to people relations between China and South Asian countries and the new progress being made in cultural exchange. The meeting was hosted by Sri Lanka’s Indrananda Abesekara. The third panel discussed the framing of a new chapter for friendly cooperation between China and South Asian cities.[ delete for which Jiangxi is] The executive vice-president of the Jiangxi PAFFC, Tu Anbo presided over the function. The forum concluded by adopting the joint statement [8th CSAFO Nanchang Decla ration] introduced by Xu Yan, Deputy Director General, Asia and African Affairs, CPAFFC, summing up the gist of these meetings.
The participation of highranking officials of China and their assertions regarding expanding their cooperation and investments in the South Asian countries and the BRI project are clear indications of the importance given by China for the regional development. They all stressed the significance of good neighbourliness for “peace, stability and prosperity” in south Asia and the world. Most of the participants from other countries represent non-govern mental organisations with limited resources and run by dedicated persons with genuine national interests. They recognise the significance of no war world order and strongly opine that good relations with China can guarantee peace and development of their countries. All delegates unanimously adopted the joint statement.The highlights of the statement deserve to be studied in depth.
“The forum appreciated the achievements of practical cooperation between China and South Asia over the past decade since the inception of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). BRI contributes to the economic development of partner countries and improving people’s livelihoods. China is ready to mobilize non-governmental forces, further coordinate the BRI with the development strategies of South Asian countries, facilitate uninterrupted regional economic flows, upgrade it and provide more benefits to the people of South Asia.
China and South Asia are friendly neighbours and development partners who cooperate with each other. Both of them belong to the same category with a common future. In maintaining relations with neighboring countries through harmony, integrity, mutual interest and inclusiveness in the diplomacy proposed by President Xi Jinping. Guided. China and South Asian countries respect each other equally, have worked together in the same direction, and achieved fruitful results in cooperation in various fields. To uphold this philosophy, we are ready to take China-South Asia relations to a higher level.
The Forum appreciates and supports the Global Development Initiative, The Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping. We will mobilize people’s power, expand the communication sectors, and open the door to more opportunities for cooperation to promote the concrete progress of these three programmes. We will work together to build a society where there is a shared future for mankind.
China is relentlessly promoting a high-standard world order and non-discriminatory policies . China is advancing modernization in all spheres with high-quality development, and both China and South Asia seek a mutually complementary coordination of interests in their development strategies. Satisfactory progress has been made in connectivity, infrastructure, trade and investment. We unanimously believe that China and South Asia should work together, create a conducive environment to realize their respective development visions, be partners in the path of modernization, and ensure that the people of China and South Asia share the fruits of cooperative development.
Countries in Africa, including China and Asia, are committed to true multilateralism. We are ready to fully enhance the role of non-governmental organizations to jointly protect the interests of developing countries, to protect inter-national justice and justice together, as well as to provide continually new contributions for the permanent peace, stability and prosperity of the region.
Both China and South Asia have great and wonderful civilizations that have made an important contribution to the modernization of human society. The conference calls upon the people to play a full role in maintaining cultural exchanges between peoples in various forms, strengthening bonds, fostering traditional friendships, and promoting understanding and goodwill between the peoples of China and South Asia ..”
The 8th China South Asia Friendship Societies Forum was held in a friendly atmosphere, with a blend of deep and practical ideas. A two-member delega tion on behalf of the India-China friendship Association actively participated in these meetings presented papers and explained the difference between the indian government’s strategies and the aspirations of the people. Even though the Government of India is joining the anti-China alliance with the dominant powers, the people are peace loving and want amicable friendly relations with China. Exchange and cooperation in various fields such as local govern ments, think tanks,media etc should be further strengthened.The ICFA delegates explained our position that the India-China Allies are of the view that they should work hand in hand with their respective friendly institutions to continuously strengthen public support for friendship between the neighbouring countries.
We had the opportunity to grace the ongoing developmental activities, infrastructure construction and to visit tourist places in the Yangtze River basin, which is the cradle of ancient civilization and culture. We have toured the Jiangxi province renowned as land of fish and rice. We are inspired by the venue of the forum Nanchang city the seat of red raising and birth place of Peoples Liberation army. We witnessed the JIuJiang city a place of diversified cultures, It is the starting point of crossing the Yangtzee river campaign during the glorious revolutionary period. A collection of 1000 years old works of art, music and literature are preserved in this place which acts as cultural window of China. Excavated and preserved antiquities, 2000 yrs old ceramic articles, compiled world-famous porcelain objects, are exhibited at the China ceramic museum of 32,000 sq.mts constructed area in Jingdezhen city. The city is considered as the porcelen capital. The stories that made their manufacture in to a modern industry are resounding in the Sanbo ceramic valley of 12sq,km area and Tao xichuan ceramic art avenue extending over two sq,km. With the new fillip given to this area by peoples government through promoting porcelain manufacturing units and extracting the abundant resources of 170 different minerals and at the same time preserving the original 63% forest area following new ecological methods forms an exemplary way of development. The development can be gauzed through the statistics too. The annual GDP of the province [population of just 4.6 crores] reached 3.21 trillion yuans in 2022 [little more than 36 trillion rupees]; The foreign trade export amounts to 508.84 billion yuans [=nearly 6338 crores of rupees]. The GDP of India in 2022 is about 3.38 trillion dollars and of China is 17.9 trillion dollars with equal population in both countries. All the participants highly appreciated the planning and swift development of China at Province, County and Township level and the infrastructure development in rural areas and increase in the living standards by strengthening of rural economy and modernizing the productive methods. The delegates expressed that “peace, stability and prosperity” should be achieved by combined efforts between the developing countries and China.
Dr S.Jatin Kumar has participated in the forum on behalf of India China Friendship Association-Andhrapradesh and Telangana states together with Dr.M.Mohan Rreddy,General secretary HQ-ICFA and both presented papers to the forum
