Special Envoy—DU Qiwen Visited GDUFS

Onthe afternoon of December 18th 2015, Special Envoy DU Qiwen came to GDUFS and took part in a forum, explaining the importance of fostering a cooperative relationship betweenChina and Pacific Islands.

Mr. DU, who graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University, joined the Chinese diplomatic service in early 1975, and served in the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and Permanent Mission of China to the UN and other international organizations in places such as Vienna. He has rich experience in diplomacy as he was assigned to be the ambassador to many countries, such as the UK and Kenya. In addition, he also joined some international programs held by UN. Since 2014, DU has concurrently been serving as China's Special Envoy to China-Pacific Islands Forum Dialogue, President of the Association of Diplomatic History of China, and Member of the Foreign Policy Advisory Group at the MFA.

Before the forum, President ZHONG Weihe warmly welcomed DU and thanked him for sharing his knowledge about Pacific Islands. ZHONG told DU that although GDUFS made a late start to studying the Pacific Islands,it had a high threshold because it was strongly supported by Guangdong government. Then, he mentioned some research projects about the Pacific Islands that GDUFS had participated in.

DU was describingthe Pacific Islands

Duringthe forum, DU briefly introduced the Pacific Islands, including their geography, cultures and current situation, and he also declared their prominent positions in Chinese diplomacy, emphasizing the need to maintain cooperation between them and China. The Pacific Islands, consisting of three main parts  - Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia –have advantageous geographic positions as well as abundant marine resources. These island countries are trying to embrace the globalization and do have development potential. China has had a friendly relationship with the Pacific Islands for many years, with many Chinese people immigrating there and finally settling. Therefore, China, the biggest developing country, has responsibility and ability to provide assistance to these countries.

The group picture

After the forum, SUI Guangjun, Chairman of University Board, received DU and had a small talk. SUI gave DU a piece of Yue embroidery on which was the city flower of Guangzhou: kapok. And DU brought a document about Chinese diplomacy as a present to GDUFS.

Chinese Report: 杜起文特使谈2015年南太平洋岛国形势