A Chinese-Romanian youth festival opened on May 8 in Shanghai to mark the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The Romanian youth delegation attending the festival consists of 58 members, including young statesmen, entrepreneurs, media workers, artists and representatives from non-governmental organizations.

During the seven-day festival, the young Romanian delegates will travel on the Huangpu River and visit remarkable buildings in Shanghai. They will also go to Beijing for more visits and exchange activities. Meanwhile, a series of artistic performances will be held along with a trade fair between Chinese and Romanian young entrepreneurs.

The gathering of Chinese and Romanian youth in this special year is of great significance to the development of friendly tradition between China and Romania, said Hu Wei, vice-chairman of the All China Youth Federation (ACYF), at Saturday's ceremony to welcome the Romanian delegation.

For a long time, no matter how the international and domestic situation changed, China and Romania have always been in good relations with mutual understanding and support. Last year, Romanian President Ion Iliescu and Prime Minister Adrian Nastase visited China, giving China support in its anti-SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) war, said Hu.

The exchange activities between young people, an important part of Sino-Romanian relations, plays the role of a bridge in promoting understanding and friendship between the two peoples and improving the relationship between the two countries.

This youth festival, held by the ACYF, would help to further push forward the traditional friendship between China and Romania, develop new cooperative relationship and organize the younger generation to develop friendly relations, said Hu.

Victor Ponta, head of the Romanian delegation, is a member of the Romanian cabinet and is in charge of affairs concerning Romania's entry into the European Union.

Ponta, 32, had visited China several years ago. He said Romania and China have a long history of youth exchanges and this festival would make the relationship between Romania and China even better.

The Romanian youth delegate said he hoped Romanian and Chinese youth could hold such activities every year.