Wang Lin

On the afternoon of April 18, 2016, a group of Sri Lanka friends visited CAFIU. They were the members of Sri Lanka-China Friendship Association (SLCFA) and the student winners of the “21st-Century Maritime Silk Road Speech Contest”. The Speech Contest was co-sponsored by CAFIU and SLCFA, attracting nearly 600 students across Sri Lanka to participate in. After nearly 3 months’ competition, 27 students were awarded the First, Second and Third Prize respectively and the First Prize winners were invited to visit China. (Please refer to the International Understanding(2015.4) published last year for further information about the Speech Contest.) CAFIU Deputy Secretary-General Liu Kaiyang met with the delegation. He expressed gratitude to friends from SLCFA for their contribution to the Speech Contest and efforts in promoting China-Sri Lanka friendship and hoped this visit could further strengthen mutual understanding at people-to-people level especially for the young people between the two countries so as to foster successors for the China-Sri Lanka friendship undertaking. Deputy Secretary-General Liu Kaiyang retrospected the final of the Speech Contest with the young students, encouraged them to study hard on professional knowledge, pay more attention to China in the future and contribute to the development of our two countries. One of the delegates from SLCFA read the letter of thanks written by SLCFA President Ananda Goonatilleke. The students said that “seeing is believing”. Through this visit they were impressed by the Chinese people’s hospitality and felt that China was like their second hometown. They were ready to become the envoys of Sri Lanka-China friendship to promote bilateral people-to-people friendly exchanges.

 

After the meeting, all the participants took a group photo to mark this activity and said that they would further advance the bilateral people-to-people exchanges. Many students said that they were willing to tell their classmates and families about their experiences in China.

 

The delegation was invited and received by Beijing NGO Association for International Exchanges (Beijing NGO). Since its establishment in August 2007, by carrying out diversified activities, Beijing NGO has set up a platform for Beijing local NGOs to have international exchanges with foreign NGOs. Under the arrangement of Beijing NGO, the Sri Lanka delegation attended a lecture on the “Belt and Road” in Beijing Technology and Business University, had discussions with students of Shunyi No. 1 High School, visited the world culture heritages including the Great Wall and the Palace Museum and also visited Tianjin History Museum. Through this visit, the delegation learned about the profound historical background of China’s capital Beijing, the achievements of the integrated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the development status of the international metropolis, and also felt the Chinese people’s deep friendship towards the Sri Lankan people.