Ten students from Xiamen University receive scholarships from the Matsushita Electric Education Fund, which was founded by Panasonic Co Ltd in 1995. [Photo/fao.xm.gov.cn]

Xie Yuan, vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), led a delegation to Xiamen, East China's Fujian province from Nov 27 to 29 to learn about the city's nongovernmental diplomacy.

Xie convened a symposium with local relevant government departments to discuss such issues as international sister-city relations, Taiwan-related affairs, educational exchange, youth development, overseas expansion of private businesses and public welfare.

Li Xiaoping, director of the Foreign Affairs Office in Xiamen and standing vice-chairman of the Xiamen Friendship Association, thanked CPAFFC for its support of the city.

Li expressed hope that CPAFFC will provide more high-end foreign affairs resources for the city, such as the Roundtable Summit of Global CEO Councils, and facilitate further investment in Xiamen.

Xie praised the city's achievements in nongovernmental diplomacy and said that CPAFFC will seek more cooperation with local government departments to further advance the development of diplomacy in Xiamen.

Xie also attended the award ceremony of the Matsushita Electric Education Fund at Xiamen University on Nov 28.

The fund was founded by Japan-based Panasonic Co Ltd in 1995 to support university students in China who are excellent in character and academic performance but have financial difficulties.

As of 2018, a total of 11.42 million yuan ($1.62 million) worth of scholarships had been issued to more than 9,600 students around China.