From November 13 to November 14, 2025, the 9th China-South Asia Friendship Organizations Forum was successfully held in the Maldives, co-hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), the Organization of South Asian Regional Friendship and Cooperation with China, and the China Maldivian Cultural Association. Mohamed Waheed, special representative of President Mohamed Muizzu of the Maldives and former President; Yang Wanming, President of the CPAFFC; Mohamed Rasheed, Rotating Chairman of the Organization of South Asian Regional Friendship and Cooperation with China and President of the China Maldivian Cultural Association; Bhattarai, former Rotating Chairman of the Organization for South Asian Regional Friendship and Cooperation with China and President of the Nepal-China Economic and Trade Association; and Indrananda Abeysekera, founder of the Organization for South Asian Regional Friendship and Cooperation with China and President of the Association for Sri Lanka-China Social and Cultural Cooperation (ASLCSCC), attended the opening ceremony and delivered remarks. More than 100 representatives from subnational governments, friendship organizations, and cultural, economic, and business sectors from regions across China, including Beijing, Shanxi, Liaoning, Anhui, Henan, Sichuan, Xizang, Jinan, as well as from South Asian countries including the Maldives, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, participated in the forum. Kong Xianhua, Chinese Ambassador to the Maldives and Ji Yongjun, Deputy Secretary-General of the CPAFFC, attended relevant activities of the forum.
President Yang Wanming stated that China and South Asian countries are closely connected by mountains and rivers and share deep cultural ties. We are partners in mutually beneficial cooperation and a community with a shared future. In recent years, under the strategic guidance and personal efforts of President Xi Jinping and the leaders of South Asian countries, China-South Asia relations have deepened and solidified, yielding fruitful results that benefit two peoples. China looks forward to working with South Asian countries to further align development, promote mutual learning between civilizations, strengthen the foundation of mutual trust, and expand youth friendship, thereby advancing the bilateral relationship.
President Yang introduced the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and the central conference on work related to neighboring countries, stating that China will continue to deepen reform, expand its opening up, and pursue high-quality development, which will open new opportunities for China-South Asia cooperation. The CPAFFC is committed to working with South Asian countries' friendship organizations to build bridges for people-to-people exchanges, practical cooperation, cultural exchanges, and youth friendship. Together, these efforts will promote the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative, contributing to the construction of the China-South Asia community with a shared future.
Mohamed Waheed emphasized that South Asia and China share a long history of traditional friendship, substantial current cooperation achievements, and aligned cultural values. He underscored that mutual learning and understanding are essential to maintaining peace and development and achieving common prosperity. He expressed hope for more friendly exchanges and practical cooperation to strengthen mutual trust and friendship and build a regional community with a shared future, contributing to the realization of a global community with a shared future.
Mohamed Rasheed highlighted that mutual learning among civilizations is the driving force for the development of state-to-state relations. The Organization for South Asian Regional Friendship and Cooperation with China will seize this forum as an opportunity to enhance people-to-people friendships and promote subnational cooperation, paving the way for a brighter future for South Asia-China relations.
Bhattarai remarked that South Asian countries and China have established diplomatic relations based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. China has consistently supported the sovereignty and independence of South Asian countries, and South Asian countries have steadfastly adhered to the One-China principle. The Organization for South Asian Regional Friendship and Cooperation with China will continue to strengthen the forum mechanism, enhance exchanges and cooperation, and build youth power to work towards a better world and contribute to the global community with a shared future. Indrananda Abeysekera expressed the willingness to encourage the younger generation to strengthen exchanges, expand dialogue, and continue the tradition of South Asia-China friendship.
Participants engaged in in-depth discussions on the theme "Mutual Learning Among Civilizations: Creating a Peaceful and Prosperous Future Together" in two sub-forums focusing on cultural exchanges and trade investment. They praised the substantial achievements made under the Belt and Road Initiative and offered practical suggestions for expanding communication and cooperation between the two sides. At the closing ceremony, Ji Yongjun, Deputy Secretary-General of the CPAFFC and Lieutenant General Altaf Hossain Choudhury, Vice Chairman of the Organization for South Asian Regional Friendship and Cooperation with China and Chairman of the Bangladesh-China Cultural,Economic & Mass Communication Center, delivered closing remarks on behalf of both the Chinese and foreign parties.
Deputy Secretary-General Ji Yongjun stated that the forum centered on the theme of unity, inheriting traditional friendship; focused on development tasks, promoting friendly cooperation; and gathered consensus for upgrading the forum's mechanisms. The CPAFFC is committed to enhancing understanding through cultural exchanges, deepening cooperation through inclusiveness and mutual trust, and ensuring that the positive consensus reached at the forum is effectively implemented, contributing to the joint development and revitalization of China and South Asia and working together to create a better future.
Lieutenant General Altaf Hossain Choudhury remarked that enhancing people's well-being is a shared goal and vision of the South Asia-China partnership. The South Asian friendship organizations are committed to deepening subnational cooperation with China, promoting exchanges among youth, women, and other groups, and injecting vitality into the construction of the China-South Asia community with a shared future.
The forum issued the Declaration of the 9th China-South Asia Friendship Organizations Forum, and attendees unanimously agreed to implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative, strengthen solidarity and cooperation among the Global South, and promote the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind.
The China-South Asia Friendship Organizations Forum was jointly initiated by the CPAFFC and South Asian countries' friendship organizations in 2009 and has become an important platform for people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between China and South Asian countries. The next forum will be held in China in 2027.
