“Knowing China” Exchange Program
A delegation composed of 12 representatives from 9 NGOs in Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were invited by the Chinese People’s Association for Peace and Disarmament (CPAPD) to participate in the “Knowing China——Deepening Mutual Understanding” exchange program in China from October 10th to 21st, 2011. In Beijing, four small workshops on issues of common interests were held with these NGO representatives from South-Asian Countries. CPAPD also invited some most authoritative experts in China’s academic circles to join the workshops, during which frank and lively interactions were going. Another important component of this South-Asian group’s schedule in Beijing was to visit the “Socialist New Countryside Building” project in Gao Beidian village, Chaoyang District, Beijing. Besides Beijing, the South-Asian NGO group then went to Hubei and Guangdong Province. With the help of the local hosts in these two Provinces, a lot of meetings and field-studies on different topics such as urban planning, medical care, higher education etc. were conducted, which helped Chinese people and the South-Asian NGO representatives to better understand each other.
