At the invitation of the Parliament of Albania, the Albania-China Cultural Association, the Latvia China Business Council, and the Canada International Council, Mr. Ji Bingxuan, Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, and Vice-President of the Chinese Association for International Understanding (CAFIU) visited Albania, Latvia and Canada from May 26 to June 4, leading a CAFIU delegation. CAFIU’s Vice-President Ai Ping and Secretary-General Ni Jian accompanied Mr. Ji for the whole trip.

 

Under the guideline of “enhancing cultural exchanges and promoting people-to-people friendship,” the visit, which is both official and people-to-people in nature, fit into the overall diplomacy of China, and consolidated the public support of the friendship between China and the relevant countries. Visiting as a leader of the National People’s Congress, of the Communist Party of China, and of an NGO, Mr. Ji met extensively with legislature leaders, political party leaders, scholars from think-tanks, and representatives of the press and NGOs, and presented to them China’s development achievements and the “Belt and Road” Initiative, helping and leading the people and high-level officials of the three countries to gain a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of China, and promoting the deepening of relations between China and the three countries. The visit achieved its purposes, and yielded fruitful results.

 

President’s birthday wishes and speaker’s Chinese toys

 

Albania is not an unfamiliar nation to Chinese people, for it enjoyed a most special relationship with China during the 1950s to 70s. In Chinese people’s eyes, Albania used to be the one and only “bright Socialist light in Europe”. The relationship was described by Chairman Mao Zedong poetically with “A bosom friend afar brings a distant land near.” In the 21st century, the relations between China and Albania have entered a new stage of all-around and rapid development, with broad prospects and sound opportunities.

 

When President Nishani of Albania met with Mr. Ji, he first expressed gratitude for the greetings from President Xi Jinping, and related proudly how he had felt immensely surprised and privileged when he received greetings and blessings from President Xi on his birthday last year. The people of Albania harbor profound affection towards the Chinese people, which lays a solid foundation for the development of Albania-China relations in the new era, according to the President.

 

The delegation was warmly welcomed by the hosts. Ilir Meta, chairman of the Albanian Parliament met with the delegation together with many senior officials of the Parliament, and threw us to a banquet after meeting the press with the Chinese delegation. Speaker Meta said that although Albania-China relations encountered some setbacks, it is fortunate that for the last two decades, the relationship between the two countries have consistently progressed no matter how the international landscape and domestic political scene in Albania shifted. The people of Albania will not forget the precious support and assistance given by China, he stressed. In the Albanian Parliament, the Albania-China Friendship Group has the most members, and enhancing dialogue and cooperation with China is a consensus among parties, Meta added. During the meeting, which lasted for twice as long as the originally planned 45-minute session, he also fondly related an anecdote of his own childhood while playing Chinese toys, effusively professing a “China complex”.

 

Albania is an important country along the “Belt and Road”. The mountainous country enjoys huge potential for its unique geographical location that links it directly with Asia, Europe and North Africa, despite its relatively small domestic market. During the visit, we arranged a special seminar to sit down with representatives of think-tanks, media, and other communities of Albania. Mr. Ji said on this occasion that China and Albania should seize the historic opportunities of the “Belt and Road” to promote common development and prosperity on the basis of the principles of wide consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits. He also pointed out that people-to-people exchanges, heart-to-heart links and public support constitute the social fundament for the “Belt and Road”. His speech was positively echoed by representatives of various communities of the Albanian society. Arta Dade, Vice-Chairwoman of the Foreign Policy Committee, said that the “Belt and Road” Initiative is significant for Albania-China cooperation in various fields and that the Albanian side would earnestly study the Initiative to effectively link up Albania’s development strategy with it. Albert Rakipi, Executive Director of the Albanian Institute for International Studies, said that the “Belt and Road” Initiative, developed from the ancient silk road, would greatly increase people-to-people, information and cultural exchanges. Maxhun Peka, former Albanian Ambassador to China, and Erion Malaj, Albanian Director of the Confucius Institute in Tirana, both said that language and cultural exchanges are the basis for people-to-people bond, and that the establishment of the Confucius Institute in Tirana has further promoted the spread of Chinese culture in Albania. Genc Mlloja, Editor-in-Chief of the Albanian Daily News, said that the “Belt and Road” Initiative is a new contribution of China to the political, economic, and cultural development of the world, for it links the present with the ancient and points towards a future of common development of diverse cultures and civilizations.

 

There was heightened attention in the Albania media sphere on the visit, with all main meetings and activities of the delegation thoroughly covered. We came to the conclusion, through face-to-face exchanges, that the “Belt and Road” Initiative has been widely embraced by the Albanian society, and is already an important platform for further exchanges and cooperation.

 

China-Latvia concrete cooperation-an unstoppable trend

 

The second stop of the visit was Latvia. The delegation left Albania, which sits beside the Adriatic Sea, transferred at Frankfurt-am-Mein, Germany, and landed in Riga, capital of Latvia, on the eastern side of the Baltic Sea.

 

One of the three Baltic countries, Latvia enjoys an outstanding geographic location by linking Asia and Europe. Not only does it play an important role in the coming and going within Europe, it also is an important node on the “Belt and Road”. For all members of the delegation, the visit was their first time in this beautiful country. The Old Town, a world cultural heritage site, and, naturally, the location of the Riga Town Hall, adds a special appeal to the city. The delegation was received by Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Latvian Parliament, Nils U akovs, Mayor of Riga and leader of the Social Democratic Party “Harmony,” Augusts Brigmanis, leader of the Union of Greens and Farmers, and Artis Kampars, Chairman of the Latvia China Business Council and General Secretary of the Unity Party. They all expressed high confidence in and expectations for the “Belt and Road” Initiative and the “16+1” Cooperation.

 

Well ahead of the visit, the delegation was informed that Dalai Lama was going to visit Latvia in October this year, but the sabotage and disruption of this “uninvited guest” are but an ant in front of the unstoppable chariot of the implementation of the “Belt and Road” Initiative and the deepening of the “16+1” cooperation mechanism in Latvia. This petty trouble-maker will definitely be drowned out in the great wave of China-Latvia cooperation.

 

Speaker Mūrniece said that the Latvian side regards Dalai Lama’s visit as a personal trip of a religious figure and, therefore, no Latvian official will meet with him. She assured the Chinese side of the high importance Latvia attaches to its relations with China and the expectations for further progress in concrete cooperation. Latvia sees great promises in the “Belt and Road” Initiative, she said, and looks forward to the “16+1” summit to be held this fall in Riga. She also expressed Latvia’s hopes to step up investment and cooperation in logistics, infrastructures, education, and cultural exchanges, as well as to have a direct flight between the two countries.

 

Riga’s Mayor U akovs, who is also the leader of the Social Democratic Party “Harmony,” said that his party would not only work within Latvia, but also in the Party of European Socialists and the European Parliament, to eliminate the noise against China-Latvia and China-EU cooperation. Brigmanis, leader of the Union of the Greens and Farmers, expressed explicitly political support to the “Belt and Road” without any reservation, and expectations for further progress in Latvia-China relations.

 

The inviter of the delegation – Chairman Kampars of the Latvia China Business Council, who is also the General Secretary of the Unity Party, said that he, as a politician as well as a businessman, saw a great future in the positive role of the “16+1” cooperation mechanism in the business cooperation between Latvia and China. The Latvia China Business Council is committed to helping businesses of the two countries sorting out their difficulties in cooperation, he said, bringing forward a suggestion for the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade to set up a Baltic office in Riga for more effective promotion of economic and business cooperation between Latvia and China.

 

All Latvian political parties, no matter in government or opposition, pledged their unwavering friendly stance towards China regardless of the government composition. A number of parties said that they approve of the governing philosophies of the Communist Party of China and are happy to see China making more development achievements. Latvia supports the “One-China” Policy, which is the corner stone of bilateral relations.

 

Master story-teller and interactive presentation

 

After concluding the Eastern European leg of the visit, the delegation again took off for the last stop of the visit – Canada in North America, a culturally diverse and economically developed Western country. What kind of inspiration would a visit by a delegation from China, an Oriental country with an ancient civilization and rapid development – in short an altogether different country on the other end of the world to Canada, spark? How could the two countries seek common ground and development despite their differences?

 

Due to a four-hour delay of the delegation’s flight to Canada, it plunged into official functions, upon arriving at Ottawa, without even checking-in at its hotel. We were warmly welcomed by George J. Furey, Speaker of the Canadian Senate and attended the welcoming banquet hosted by the Canada-China Legislative Association. Warm towards China, Furey chose our country for the destination of his first foreign visit as the Speaker. This time, he met the delegation in-between the sessions of a sitting – a gesture that moved the delegation and fully displayed the importance he attaches to China and Canada-China relations. Furey said that exchanges with China are a priority of the Canadian Senate, and that he hopes to see Canada-China relations deepening in a practical manner. Notwithstanding the differences in political systems and social patterns, the Canadian side supports China on all of its major concerns and core interests, he stressed. The new Canadian federal government highly values the friendship with China, and hopes to expand concrete cooperation with China, Furey added. After the meeting, Furey accompanied the delegation on a tour around the Parliament, and explained to the delegation the history and architectural features of the building, which deeply impressed the delegation.

 

The highlight of the visit in Canada came when Mr. Ji Binxuan delivered a keynote speech “China’s Economic Development is Healthy, Orderly, and Vigorous” at a jointly held luncheon, addressing an audience of almost 100, including several former cabinet members and former ambassadors to China, and heads of universities. With spirited language and detailed data, Mr. Ji made a presentation on China’s economy, the 13th Five-Year Plan, and the new opportunities brought about by China’s economic development to the world in general and Canada in particular. Especially, he gave a comprehensive explanation on the “five development ideas”, namely innovation, coordination, green development, openness and sharing, receiving positive feedbacks from the Canadian side.

 

On top of the fascinating keynote speech, the following Q&A session attracted a cascade of questions: What are China’s expectations for Prime Minister Trudeau’s visit When will the “tentative discussion” of a China-Canada FTA be initiated? What is China’s attitude towards the “Paris Agreement” and how does China balance economic development vis-à-vis environmental protection? Is there possibility for Canada and China to engage in cooperation on Arctic icebreakers? ... The list went on and on. Several Chinese experts also suggested that China step up efforts in building its “Soft Power” and improving its image. Mr. Ji responded to each and every question with ease, and received applauses and praises from the crowd. Some jarring words were neutralized with witty yet wise words, and a convergence of ideas from the East and the West was celebrated. The Canadian friends had heard and learnt the story about China.

 

The ten-day visit had been short. Yet through exchanges at different levels in the three countries, all members of the delegation felt satisfied with their gains, and further recognized the unique role of NGOs such as CAFIU. People-to-people diplomacy is an important force in telling the “Chinese story,”establishing a good national image, increasing mutual understanding, promoting concrete cooperation, and enhancing public support to state-to-state relations.