Ｄｅｌｅｇａｔｉｏｎ ｏｆ Ｌｅｂａｎｅｓｅ－Ｃｈｉｎｅｓｅ Ｌｅａｇｕｅ ｆｏｒ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ ａｎｄ Ｃｏｏｐｅｒａｔｉｏｎ Ｖｉｓｉｔｓ Ｃｈｉｎａ

Ｊｉａ　Ｌｉｎｇ

At the invitation of the CPAFFC, a delegation of the Lebanese-Chinese League for Friendship and Cooperation (LCLFC) led by Dr. Massoud Daher paid a goodwill visit to China from October 12 to 18, 2007.

The LCLFC was founded in August of 2001. Its president Dr. Massoud Daher is a well-known scholar in Lebanon. The League clubs dozens of elites from all circles including diplomats, physicians, lawyers and scholars, and aims to promote friendly exchanges, especially cultural exchanges and cooperation, between Lebanon and China. In 2005 and 2006, the organization held a symposium on Lebanon-China Relations in Beirut and Beijing respectively. It also organizes Lebanese specialists on issues concerning China to hold regular presentations on the situation and development of China. As a staff writer and member of the editorial board of several mainstream publications, Dr. Massoud often writes articles and comments about China. During his previous visits to China, he only went to the prosperous coastal cities in East China. This time, the CPAFFC arranged for the delegation to visit Ningxia, a less developed region in the West of the country in order to give it a full picture of Chinas economic development.

Feng Zuoku, vice president of the CPAFFC, met with the delegation. In Ningxia, the delegation visited Yanchi County in the southern part of the autonomous region, an under-developed county, where they inspected the prevention and control of desertification programme, a Tan sheep farm and a licorice farm. In Shanghai, they visited the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, and had a discussion with the professors and postgraduates. Through their visits, members of the delegation got a general idea of Chinas development.

During his stay in China, President Massoud Daher reiterated the importance of enhancing mutual understanding between Lebanon and China. He pointed out, mutual understanding is a prerequisite of further cooperation in all aspects. The visit to Ningxia provided a good opportunity for them to know about and understand China in a comprehensive way, and enabled them to see on the one hand the unbalanced development between Chinas East and West with the latter lagging far behind and on the other hand the vitality and potentiality of the western region for development. President Massoud Daher said, Chinas socialist system is different from that of the Soviet Union. It is an advanced socialism and many of its experiences in development are worth learning by other countries.

On exchanges and cooperation between local governments, the members of the delegation expressed they would act as a bridge to help forge friendship ties between Lebanese and Chinese provinces and cities.

The majority of the delegation members were scholars and professors engaged in researches and teaching of history, politics, economics, language and architecture who came to seek opportunities for academic exchanges with Chinese institutions of higher learning. Therefore, special arrangements were made for them to visit Ningxia University and Shanghai International Studies University, where they discussed with the universities leaders cooperation programmes such as sending exchange students and visiting scholars, and jointly holding symposiums.