On May 9, the Launching Ceremony of the Training Program for Trade Unions of the BRI Countries & the Opening Ceremony of the Training Class for Cambodian Trade Union Cadres, hosted by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) and organized by China University of Labor Relations (CULR), was held in the lecture hall at the 8th floor of Zhiyuan Building. Wei Dichun, Vice Chairman, Secretary of the Secretariat, and Member of the Party Group of the ACFTU, Ma Jin, Director of the International Department of the ACFTU, Chuon Momthol, Honorary President of the Cambodian Confederation of Trade Unions or the Cambodian Unions Federation (referred to as CCTU or CUF), along with 29 members; Fu Deyin, President of the CULR; Li Ke, Vice President of the CULR; and Dai Xiaoxiao, member of the Party Committee and President of the School of Trade Union Cadres Training(STUCT), attended the launching ceremony. Officials from the International Office of Cooperation and Exchange and the STUCT attended the event as accompanies. The launching ceremony was chaired by Director Ma Jin.

Vice Chairman Wei Dichun pointed out that the launching ceremony marks the official beginning of the training program for trade unions of the BRI Countries organized by the ACFTU this year. He emphasized that China and Cambodia are "ironclad" friends and friendly neighbors who share weal and woe, and the traditional friendship between the two countries is everlasting. The exchanges between the trade unions of China and Cambodia are an important part of the friendly relations between the two countries. The two sides exchanged views on trade union work and issues of common concern, worked together in safeguarding workers' rights, building harmonious labor relations, and strengthening trade union capacity building, and established a deep friendship with each other. In international and regional labor affairs, the trade unions of China and Cambodia firmly support each other's positions and concerns.

President Fu Deyin warmly welcomed President Chuon Momthol and introduced the history, positioning and academic characteristics of the CULR. He said that this year is the China-Cambodia People-to-People Year. The CULR is willing to take the opportunity of hosting the training class for Cambodian trade union cadres to share the accumulated experience and achievements of China's trade unions in the fields of historical development, legal construction, financial management, trade union functions and foreign exchanges with Cambodian trainees, so as to further promote exchanges and communications between trade unions of China and Cambodia.

President Chuon MomtholZun Monto expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the ACFTU and the CULR for the warm reception. He said that in the more than ten years since the "Belt and Road Initiative" was put forward, the cooperation between Cambodia and China in various fields has been increasingly strengthened. He hoped that this visit and exchange would further deepen the cooperation and exchanges between the trade unions of the two countries, promote the building of a high-quality, high-level, and high-standard community with a shared future for Cambodia and China in the new era, and consolidate the "ironclad" friendship between Cambodia and China.

After the launching ceremony, Vice President Li Ke gave a lecture titled "The Development History of the Chinese Workers' Movement under the Leadership of the Communist Party of China", which comprehensively showed the development process of the Chinese workers' movement from different historical periods, profoundly analyzed the basic experience of the Chinese workers' movement, and triggered in-depth thinking of the trainees.

The training program for trade unions of the BRI countries & the training class for Cambodian trade union cadres are held to actively promote the concept of the development path of socialist trade unions with Chinese characteristics, the practical achievements of China's trade unions and the spirit of the 18th National Congress related to China's Trade Unions. The participants of this training course will receive a 10-day training in Beijing and Chengdu.

The CCTU is the largest national trade union organization in Cambodia, with 310,000 members and 17 affiliated industrial union federations. The largest federation is the CUF, with around 200,000 members mainly from the garment and footwear industry. The CUF has maintained a long-standing friendly relationship with the ACFTU, with leaders from both organizations visiting each other many times.

(International Office of Cooperation and Exchange, School of Trade Union Cadres Training)