Wang Yue, chairman of the board of directors of the Chinese Association of Non-Government Organizations (CANGO) told a forum of German and Chinese non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Beijing on Monday that China is in the right place and at the right time to develop grassroots democracy and learn how to arouse public participation from Germany.

The two-day forum, which opened yesterday, was jointly sponsored by the CANGO and the Germany-based Konrad Adenauer Foundation, and aims to bring together Chinese and German experts to exchange views and experiences on developing grassroots democracy through the work of NGOs.

Sun Weilin, a senior Ministry of Civil Affairs official in charge of the CANGO, said the world is undergoing a transformation toward economic globalization and cultural diversity and the CANGO has also seen progress and played an increasingly vital role in Chinese society.

The government sees the development of NGOs as extremely important, said Sun, and has formulated policies and regulations to ensure a positive environment for them.

China has 290,000 registered NGOs, which Sun said are especially crucial in public service and charity sectors.

Wolfgang Kessler, minister-counselor of the German embassy in Beijing, said many countries realize NGOs are socially responsible agencies that complement the role of government.

Winfried Jung, Konrad Adenauer Foundation Resident Representative to China, said that the 500,000 NGOs in Germany have contributed a lot to society.

According to Wang, cooperation between China and German NGOs has extended to various spheres such as legal aid, women's issues and the development of grassroots democracy.

(Xinhua News Agency December 20, 2005)