From September 18^th to 28^th of 2011, the 3^rd South Asian Senior Diplomats Delegation sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and organized by the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs (CPIFA) paid a successful visit to Beijing, Sichuan and Shenzhen. The Delegation consists of 5 members who are from Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka respectively.

       In Beijing, Mr. Zhu Jiamu, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Science, Mr. Liu Zhenmin, Assistant Foreign Minister, Amb. Lu Shumin, Vice President of CPIFA, Mr. Sun Weidong, Deputy Director General of Dept. of Asian Affairs of MFA met with or hosted banquets in honor of the delegation members respectively. The delegation also had a round table discussion with Chinese scholars on China-South Asia relations, and met with senior officials of MOFCOM, the Export-Import Bank of China, the Institute of Contemporary China Studies and China Road & Bridge Corporation respectively. In Sichuan and Shenzhen, Mr. He Guangxian, Deputy Director General of Foreign Affair Office of Sichuan Province, Mr. Huang Guoqiang, Deputy Secretary General of Shenzhen Municipal Government, met with or hosted banquets in honor of the delegation respectively. The delegation was also engaged in discussions with experts and students of South Asian Institute of Sichuan University, and visited Dongfang Electric Corporation, Dujiangyan hydro project, Dujiangyan Post Earthquake Reconstruction Project, ZTE Corporation and Yantian Port.

       All delegates spoke highly of the visit and said they gained more comprehensive understanding of China’s social and economic developments through this visit despite of the fact it was not their first visit to China. The delegation members are impressed by China’s development pattern and it’s achievements ever since the practice of China’s Reform & Opening up Policy．Everyone of them feels optimistic about the prospect of China-South Asia relations and calls for all-round cooperation in various fields in the future.