On September 15, 2025, President Yang Wanming of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) met in Urumqi with Sommad Pholsena, Vice President of the National Assembly of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) and Head of the Lao-China Friendship Group; Vandy Bouthasavong, Deputy Director of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Lao National Assembly; and Vandy Bouthasavong, Chairman of the People's Council of Sekong Province of Laos. The delegation was in China at the invitation of the CPAFFC to attend the 2025 Legislators Forum for Friendly Exchanges.
President Yang extended a warm welcome to Vice President Sommad Pholsena and his delegation to China for the forum, praising Vice President Sommad Pholsena and the Pholsena family for their long-standing contributions to advancing China-Laos friendship and promoting exchanges and practical cooperation across various fields. Since its inception in 2023, the Legislators Forum for Friendly Exchanges has successfully convened three times, playing an important role in enhancing dialogue between Chinese and foreign legislators, promoting international parliamentary cooperation, and strengthening people-to-people ties.
President Yang stressed that China and Laos are socialist neighbors with a long-standing and ever-stronger traditional friendship. Not long ago, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and President Xi Jinping met in Beijing with Thongloun Sisoulith, General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and President of Laos, who attended the "SCO+" Meeting, the Commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, and paid a working visit to China. The two leaders reached important consensus on deepening the building of a China-Laos community with a shared future, which provides fundamental guidance for the future of bilateral relations. Next year marks the 65th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Laos, expressing the hope that both sides will continue to consolidate political trust, expand practical cooperation in various areas, and steadily advance the China-Laos community with a shared future.
Vice President Sommad Pholsena expressed his gratitude for the invitation to attend the 2025 Legislators Forum for Friendly Exchanges and congratulated the organizers on its success. He said that during his visit to Xinjiang, he was deeply impressed by the region's economic prosperity, ethnic unity, and the well-being of its people under the leadership of President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party of China. Laos and China enjoy close relations, frequent exchanges at all levels, and robust practical cooperation, making them a true community with a shared future. He added that the Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by President Xi Jinping, has brought tangible benefits to the Lao people, especially through the operation of the China-Laos Railway, which has transformed Laos from a "land-locked country" into a "land-linked country." Vice President Sommad Pholsena affirmed that he and the Lao National Assembly are ready to continue working with the CPAFFC to strengthen exchanges between legislators, youth, and people from all sectors of two countries, so as to further advance Laos-China friendship.
Yuan Mindao, Vice President of the CPAFFC, Zhu Dan, Director-General of the Department of East Asian Affairs of the CPAFFC, among others, were present at the meeting.
