By Wang Ruixiang & Tan Xingyu

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Geng Zhiyuan：Clearing Up Misunderstandings Key to Friendship

By Wang Ruixiang & Tan Xingyu

Geng Zhiyuan， the President of the China-Myanmar Friendship Association， has played an important role in promoting mutual understanding between the two countries.

Founded in 1952, the China-Myanmar Friendship Association （CMFA） was one of the important non-governmental organizations engaged in foreign exchanges in the early years after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. It has played an important role in the development of bilateral relations. In the CMFA office in central Beijing, its current president, Geng Zhiyuan, sat down with China Report ASEAN to speak about his experience in exchanges between the two countries.

CHINA REPORT ASEAN： In recent years, CMFA has made contributions to the development of China-Myanmar friendship. Could you please give a brief introduction of your work？

GENG ZHIYUAN： As a purely non-governmental organization, CMFA has to solve problems regarding funding and staf recruitment all by itself. We have brought together a batch of entrepreneurs in favor of friendship between China and Myanmar； they provide financial support for CMFA. Now, we have an excellent team. Tey are enterprising, hard-working, united and cooperating well. In particular, this team is very young, which pleases me very much.

Thanks to the joint efforts, CMFA has made certain achievements and been recognized in both China and Myanmar. This is also attributed to the support and trust of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries（CPAFFC）.

In the light of the instructions of CPAFFC President Li Xiaolin, our work has upheld the spirit of people-to-people diplomacy - “doing the work in an indepth, high-level and wide-ranging way”. We have made a lot of friends in Myanmar and established friendly relations with the government, military, Buddhist circles and non-governmental organizations. In particular, we have forged a close cooperative relationship with the Myanmar-China Friendship Association.

Generally speaking, our work covers the following aspects：

First, we actively make suggestions and provide decision-making references for the relevant administrative departments of the country. For example, while actively developing relations with the National League for Democracy of Myanmar, we suggested inviting Daw Aung San Suu Kyito visit China as soon as possible； when a Myanmar newspaper complained about Chinese food, we recommended the relevant domestic department to improve their supervision and inspection work； and we have also communicated the opinions of Myanmar citizens to Chinese frms operating there in an efort to help them improve.

Secondly, we have been strengtheningexchanges between China and Myanmar in various circles, receiving Myanmar delegations visiting China and organizing our own domestic delegations to travel to Myanmar to enhance mutual understanding. In 2015, there were 26 formal exchanges between us and Myanmar delegations representing various interests.

Thirdly, we do our utmost to work for public welfare in Myanmar. In 2015 alone, we donated some 5 million yuan（US$800,000） to support education, temples and people's livelihoods. Of the projects we launched, the influential ones include providing relief to those afected by foods in cooperation with the Blue Sky Rescue Team, the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar and the Beijing Association of Returned Overseas Chinese from Myanmar； then, there was the China-Myanmar “Friendship Spring”, helping to solve the drinking water and domestic water supply problems of eight villages, which received praise from various circles in Myanmar.

Fourthly, we have boosted educational exchanges： helping at least 200 Myanmar students to come to China to receive vocational education training every year, helping over 250 middle school students in north Myanmar to come to China to attend school for free and designating the No.14 Middle School of Naypyidaw as a unit enjoying the support of CMFA and the Myanmar-China Friendship Association, including the provision of scholarships for 15 students to study in China each year.

Finally, we promote economic projects, such as power supply from Yunnan Province to Yangon to overcome shortages.

CHINA REPORT ASEAN： Recent years have seen continuous development of economic and trade relations between China and Myanmar. There are many Chinese enterprises engaged in various industries there. While there have been some achievements, they also have met some problems and difculties. What kind of measures do you think China and Myanmar should take to promote consensus, eliminate misunderstanding and seek common development？

GENG ZHIYUAN： Some Chinese projects in Myanmar have been involved in problems. First, Chinese frms operating in Myanmar lack a unified coordination mechanism. At present, all Chinese enterprises operate in Myanmar separately. We should educate them to promote friendship between the two peoples while seeking development on the land of our friendly neighbor. Special attention should be paid to the following points： first, consider the needs of the Myanmar people frst ahead of their own profts to achieve a mutually benefcial result； second, the projects should be transparent, a point Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has always stressed； third, don't only deal with government departments, but also engage with local people and be sure to take good care of their interests； fourth, carry out more projects concerning the people's livelihoods； and fnally, pay attention to environmental protection.

Moreover, we should pay more attention to clearing up misunderstandings among Myanmar citizens. In the past, Chinese enterprises used to use the approach of “doing more, but offering fewer explanations”. Now, however, they should offer explanations to Myanmar citizens about the work they are doing and how it will beneft the local population.

CHINA REPORT ASEAN： We noticed that you led a Chinese rescue team of volunteers and workers to visit food disaster areas in Myanmar, yielding very good results. As a non-governmental organization engaged in foreign exchanges, CMFA has done a lot of work to promote bilateral relations. In regard to strengthening the friendly exchanges between the two peoples, what kind of role do you think a non-governmental organization could further play？

GENG ZHIYUAN： Not being part of the government, a non-governmental organization can be more flexible and have more extensive contacts so that it can make more friends. Non-governmental organizations should work more boldly for the benefit of friendship between China and Myanmar. President Xi Jinping has repeatedly stressed the necessity of attaching importance to people-to-people diplomacy and our relevant institutions should really implement the work, highlight people-to-people diplomacy and ensure it is refected in their policies.

CHINA REPORT ASEAN： Friendly exchanges between China and Myanmar can be traced back to ancient times. The two countries have had lots of exchanges in religion, culture and customs, but compared with the development speed of economic and trade ties, bilateral cultural and people-to-people exchanges are far from enough. President Geng, I'd like to ask what suggestions do you have for promoting cultural, technological and tourist exchanges between China and Myanmar？

GENG ZHIYUAN： In my opinion, priority should be given to the work of enhancing mutual understanding. Most Chinese people regard Myanmar as a very mysterious country, not safe, so they don't dare to tour Myanmar. In the meantime, most Myanmar people don't know the current development status of China. In their eyes, Western countries and Japan are the best and most developed, but they don't know China has reached the world's advanced level in many aspects, especially in areas of infrastructure such as highspeed railways. We hope that China's development experience in various fields accumulated since its reform and opening up can be summarized, since many of our friends in Myanmar want to learn about it.

We should invite as many people from Myanmar from various circles as possible to visit China, and organize Chinese people to go to Myanmar. I hope to further develop the tourism of the two countries and carry out more flm, TV and cultural exchanges.