Proud of Our Genuine Friendship with China——An Interview with UAE Ambassador Omar Al Bitar

THIRTY years after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the People’s Republic of China and the United Arab Emirates,the two countries are witnessing monumental,across-theboard developments.On this occasion,China Today spoke to UAE Ambassador to China Omar Al Bitar to learn about the past and prospects of friendly relations between the two countries.China Today:The relationship between China and the     

Good Relations between China and the Republic of Korea

Rapid progress has been made in vari ous fields on friendly relations and cooperation between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Korea since the two countries established diplomatic relations on 24 August 1992. In the political field, leaders of both sides have many exchanges of visits and meetings in multilateral activities on the international arena, which have promoted mutual understanding and trust and enhanced the development of bilateral relations. On the economic front, the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries has been     

China and Venezuela,a True Modeland Example of Mutual Respect

正THE history of diplomatic relations between the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the People’s Republic of China is divided into three stages.The first,the formal establishment of relations between the two countries,was in 1974,and purely formal,even reticent,perhaps due to heavy dependence on the governments of Western powers prior to the Bolivarian Revolution.This period ended in 1999,with the rise to power of Supreme Commander Hugo Chavez,who from the beginning had the objective of strengthening ties between the two countries and achieving more and more optimal levels.     

Fruitful Cooperation between China and Dominica——An Interview with David Xu,Special Envoy of the Commonwealth of Dominica

正THIS year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the People’s Republic of China and the Commonwealth of Dominica.China’s1.3 billion-strong population dwarfs Dominica’s less than 100,000 inhabitants.However,the two countries share a common understanding of equality and mutual benefit and have developed bilateral relations noticeably over the past 10 years,witnessed by achieve-     

Fifty Years of Sino-Norwegian Cooperation——An Interview with Norwegian Ambassador

Geographical distance has not hindered friendly relations, ongoing for more than two centuries, between China and Norway. Norway recognized the People's Republic of China on January 7,1950 and diplomatic relations were established on October 5, 1954. In 1955, the two countries began to exchange ambassadors. Since then their political, economic and cultural cooperation has steadily advanced. The year 2004 marks the 50th anniversary of establishment of Sino-Norwegian diplomatic relations. In honor of the occasion, China Today spoke with Norwegian Ambassador Tor Chr. Hildan on bilateral trade and economic cooperation.     

From Britain with Love The British Council and Four Decades of Deepening Cultural and Educational Ties

WITH a commitment to a step change in the range and level of relations between the two countries,the People’s Republic of China and the United Kingdom established diplomatic relations at the     

China and Brazil: Eye to Eye on Political Issues and Economic Cooperation

正SINCE the establishment of full diplomatic relations between China and Brazil 40 years ago,the two countries have tightened their bilateral ties to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership.Recently Brazilian Ambassador to China Valdemar Carneiro Leao sat down with China Today for an exclusive interview.He said that the two countries share similar stances on issues of bilateral and multilateral relations and have maintained close economic cooperation.     

Exchanges

Xi Jinping Holds Talks with Czech President Milos Zeman
President Xi 3inping held talks on October 27 with President Milos Zeman of the Czech Republic. Xi made a point of mentioning that President Milos Zeman＇s visit was on the occa- sion of the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries; also the special signifi-cance of its being the first visit by the head of state of the Czech Republic to China in ahnost 10 years. Xi expressed hope that the Czech Republic will play a greater role in promoting EU-China relations and also in coop- eration betweenChina and countries in Central and Eastern Europe.     

History Reverses Itself in Student Exchange Programs

AFTER decades of bumpy China-U.S.relations,America is set to expand the 100,000 Strong Initiative,sending more American students and teachers to China to gain real-world experience,learn about China and bridge the gap between two of the world’s largest and most influential countries.? The tale of China-U.S.relations is one with many twists and turns.The U.S.slams China on human rights while China criticizes the U.S.on its intervention in sovereign nations.Trade disputes between the two countries continue to cause concern and there are fundamental differences in world views as represented by the majority of citizens in each of these two vastly different countries.     

Retrospects and Prospects of China-ROK Relations

The third anniversary ofthe establishment ofdiplomatic relations betweenChina and the Republic of Ko-rea (ROK) falls on August 24,1995. The relations between Chi-na and ROK started in 1986 inthe area of economy and trade,with sports serving as a bridge.By 1991, the volume of tradebetween the two countries hadreached 5. 8 billion US dollars,making China ROK's No. 4     

40th Anniversary of Ambassadorial Relations Between China and the UK Marked

The 40th anniversary of the establishment of ambassadorial relations between China and the UK fell on March 13. On the evening of March 20, people gathered in the brightly-lit Peace Palace of the CPAFFC at a reception to celebrate the occasion, which began with a performance of the Harrow Girls’ Choir from Harrow School in Beijing. The UK recognized the People’s Republic of China on January 6, 1950, the first major Western country to do so. n June 17, 1954, the two countries exchanged diplomatic representatives.     

STAYING CLOSE

<正>Sino-Swiss relations can be enhanced even further Sino-Swiss relations have created many"firsts"since the founding of the People’s Republic of China(PRC)on October 1,1949.Switzerland was one of the first European countries to establish official relations with the PRC.It recognized the PRC on January 17,1950.And on September 14 that year,the two countries established a diplomatic relationship.     

Relationship in Full Blossom

正China and Tajikistan established diplomatic relations on January 4,1992.The two sides are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their relationship this year.Tajik Ambassador to China Rashid Alimov spoke to Beijing Review about the past and looks ahead to the future of relations between the two countries.     

GREETINGS TO THE BRIDGE BUILDERS

Warm congratulations to Youxie on its fortieth anniversary. Over the years, it has built multiple bridges between the Chinese people and those of foreign lands. In earlier days, when stateto-state relations between the People's Republic of China and the governments of other countries were still few, it helped, through joint efforts of the peoples on both sides, to build bridges of understanding and thus speed the establishment and increase of such relations. When state-to-state relations multiplied, it helped consolidate them by build-     

Exchange Is at the Heart of Culture——Interview with Mathias Lafolie,Cultural Counselor at the Swedish Embassy in Beijing

THIS year marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the People’s Republic of China and the Kingdom of Sweden.To learn more about the relationship between the two cultures,China Today interviewed Mathias Lafolie,the Cultural Counselor at the Swedish Em-     

Continuing to Build a Life-Long Friendship: Canada and China

The People’s Republic of Chi- na’s President Hu Jintao’s recent visit to Canada, coincided with the 35th anniversary of the Testablishment of diplomatic rela- tion between Canada and China. We are optimistic that his visit will further enhance the friend-ship and cooperation between these two countries. The future holds tremendous opportunities for both Canada and China and itis with open optimism with which we observe and support President Hu’s visit. As an active and very inter- es…     

Belated ＂Thanks＂

On February 21, 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon started a weeklong official visit to China, the first by an American leader to the People＇s Republic. Nixon later called it ＂The week that changed the world.＂ At the end of his trip the two countries released the Joint Communique of the United States of America and the People＇s Republic of China （also known as Shanghai Communique）, in which both expressed a desire to normalize relations and stressed common ground on several key issues. The frosty ties between two of the world＇s biggest countries began to thaw. On December 16, 1978, China and the U.S. signed the Joint Communiqu6 on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations, officially recognizing each other and establishing diplomatic relations on January 1, 1979. On March 1 the same year they exchanged ambassadors and embassies, and Sino-U.S. relationships entered a new epoch.     

A Subdued Anniversary

<正>Twenty-five years on,diplomatic relations between China and ROK need tobe more rational and matureBilateral relations between China and the Republic of Korea(ROK)have made tremendous progress since the two nations first established official diplomatic ties in 1992.Within 16 years,the relations leapfrogged from being simply cooperative,to comprehensively cooperative,and then a     

Xi Jinping Holds Talks with Czech President Milos Zeman

正President Xi Jinping held talks on October 27 with President Milos Zeman of the Czech Republic.Xi made a point of mentioning that President Milos Zeman’s visit was on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries;also the special significance of its being the first visit by the head of state of the Czech Republic to     

A Relationship Beyond The Realm of Diplomacy

The recently concluded visit to Pakistan by President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping has surely been instrumental for exponential expansion in the bilateral relations between the two countries and has elevated them to a new level of abiding strategic cooperation that holds the promise of not only serving the geo-political,economic and security interests of both of them but also the South Asian region as well as Central Asia.