Her Majesty Queen Rania lauded the spirit of friendship between Jordan and China on September 4, as she explored means of cooperation between Jordanian and Chinese educational institutions and women's organisations on the first day of a four-day working trip to the country.

During a visit to Peking University, which was established in 1898 as the first national university in China and now caters for 46,074 students, the Queen toured a number of its faculties, including the Centre for Chinese Studies and the College for International Relations.

At the centre, Queen Rania joined a group of international students in their language class, where she, too, learned a few Chinese words, before proceeding to the College for International Relations, which was officially founded in 1996, the first such school set up in a Chinese university.

Queen Rania engaged in a candid discussion on the role of youth leadership in the world with a group of students studying international relations, who are also members of the University's Youth Leadership Model UN Association.

At the session, facilitated by deputy dean of the college, Yuan Ming, Queen Rania commended the youth for their efforts and their interest in international issues dominating the world today, expressing her pride in the way in which they tackle such issues - with zeal and energy.

Later in the day, Her Majesty visited the United Arab Emirates Centre for Arabic Language and Islamic Studies at the Beijing Foreign Studies University in the heart of the Chinese capital. The centre was set up and financed by the late Sheikh Zayed Ben Sultan Al Nahyan following a visit to China in 1990.

Queen Rania met with Party Secretary, Professor Yang Xueyi, the Vice President, Professor Zhong Mai-Sun and students at the centre, where discussions focused on its work as well as ways to foster student exchange and build relations with Jordanian universities.

During the meeting, which was conducted in Arabic and Chinese, Queen Rania commended the staff and students for developing student exchange programmes. She noted that, as evident by the Chinese students studying the Arabic language, such programmes help break the language barrier that exists between both peoples and reinforces strong ties between China and the Arab world.

In response to a query by one of the students on what she feels is the most important thing to which today's youth can contribute, Her Majesty's said it was helping bridge the growing divide that exists between East and West.

She then joined around 200 students for a cultural performance of Arab song and dance, including the traditional dabkeh, and poetry recitals performed by Chinese students, as one of the centre's activities to promote Arab culture and as part of a wider programme of study focused on teaching the Arabic language, Islamic research and studies, as well as historic relations between China and Arab and Islamic countries. Following the performance, Queen Rania was presented with the university emblem.

Women's organisations

In addition to education, strengthening ties between women's organisations in China and Jordan was also on the Queen's agenda on her first day in the Chinese capital.

Her Majesty paid a visit to the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), where she met with its vice president, Madam Huang Chi Yi, who briefed her on the organisation's activities, as well as existing Jordanian and Chinese women's cooperation channels.

Discussions also focused on Sino-Jordanian relations and key issues relating to women in China and Jordan and their advancement and achievement.

Queen Rania highlighted that His Majesty King Abdullah always stresses the importance of finding new ways to strengthen the 30-year relationship between the two countries and create partnerships in fields relevant to women in particular.

She added that Jordanian and Chinese women face the same challenges and that Jordan looks to benefit from China's experience of women in the labour force.

Founded in 1949, the ACWF is dedicated to the advancement of Chinese women of all ethnic groups and from all walks of life. Its mission is to represent and to protect women's rights and interests.

In December 2003, the General Federation of Jordanian Women organised a visit for an ACWF delegation to come to Jordan, where they met with several women's associations to strengthen and broaden areas of mutual cooperation, especially regarding issues which impact women all around the globe.