BPAFFC Welcomes Visiting Friend from Austria

On September 12, 2023, the BPAFFC welcomed the visit of Irene Giner-Reichl, former Austrian ambassador to China and current Vice President of the Austria-China Friendship Association (ACFA). Zhang Qian, Executive Vice President of the BPAFFC and Wang Yanxia, Vice President and Senior Councilor of the BPAFFC extended warm greetings to the guest. Zhang Qian congratulated Ms. Giner-Reichl on her election as Vice President of the ACFA and commended the active efforts made by the ACFA and Ms. Giner-Reichl to promote the friendship and local cooperation between the two countries over the years.

Ms. Giner-Reichl gave a brief introduction to the ACFA, reviewed its cooperation with the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and people-to-people exchanges with various regions of China in recent years, and expressed her affections for China and Beijing as former Austrian ambassador to China.

Zhang Qian reviewed the interaction with the Austrian delegation during the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. The BPAFFC organized the “Colorful Imagination of Ice and Snow, Best Wishes for the Winter Olympics” International Youth Painting Invitational Exhibition and selected 3,000 paintings as gifts to the participating athletes from various countries. After receiving the gifts, the Austrian delegation started looking for the young creators through Tik Tok and other platforms. With the help of the BPAFFC, Chinese children who drew the paintings recorded videos expressing their best wishes to the Austrian athletes.

The BPAFFC and the Austrian side made an extensive and in-depth dialogue on such topics as post-Games use of venues and facilities, popularization of winter sports, exchanges in the fields of arts and culture, cooperation in culture and tourism, and youth exchanges. Zhang Qian invited the ACFA to participate in the CIFTIS Cultural and Tourism Promotion Exhibition and the “Colorful World” International Youth Painting Invitational Exhibition next year, and invited Ms. Giner-Reichl to attend the Beijing International Forum on People-to-people Friendship to be held in Beijing next year. The two sides agreed that it is all-important to strengthen mutual understanding and trust between Chinese and Austrian people, and the BPAFFC and the ACFA should continue working together to promote people-to-people friendship between the two countries.

Wang Yanxia showed Ms. Giner-Reichl around the office area of the BPAFFC, introduced its history and architecture, and presented the paintings and calligraphies created by the directors of the BPAFFC. Ms. Giner-Reichl was amazed at the “quadrangle courtyard” culture embodied in the architecture, saying Chinese culture is both extensive and profound. She also looked forward to more opportunities to visiting the BPAFFC and furthering their cooperation.