China and ASEAN countries are connected by mountains and rivers, and have a long history of friendly exchanges. Since President Xi Jinping proposed the construction of a closer China-ASEAN community of destiny in 2013, China and ASEAN have been helping each other and overcoming difficulties together, and the sense of shared destiny has been deeply rooted in people's hearts.
On February 2, the opening ceremony of the 2024 China-ASEAN Year of Humanistic Exchange was held. Taking the "China-ASEAN Year of Humanities Exchange" as an opportunity, China and ASEAN countries will carry out rich and diversified humanities exchange activities to promote the people on both sides to get closer and closer, and work hand in hand to build a common homeland of peace, tranquility, prosperity, beauty and friendship.
President Xi Jinping pointed out that in order to maintain the friendship between China and ASEAN, it is necessary to strengthen the social relations between the two sides. Humanistic exchange is the spiritual bond between China and ASEAN countries, which transcends history and precipitates the deep roots of China and ASEAN for the future. Since 2014, China and ASEAN have co-organized the Year of Cultural Exchanges, the Year of Educational Exchanges, the Year of Cooperation in Tourism, the Year of Innovation, and the Year of Media Exchanges and formed 225 pairs of friendship cities. People-to-people exchanges between the two sides have increased from 18.2 million in 2013 to 65 million before the epidemic, with nearly 4,500 flights between the two sides every week.
"The two sides should take the Sino-Cambodian Friendship Year as an opportunity to expand local counterpart cooperation, increase humanistic exchanges, strengthen youth communications and carry forward the cause of Sino-Cambodian friendship." President Xi Jinping said in February 2023 when he met with Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.
"Deepen exchanges and cooperation in the field of humanities, continue the traditional friendship, consolidate the social and public opinion foundation of friendship, and promote closer relations between China and Laos." The Action Plan of the Communist Party of China and the Lao People's Revolutionary Party on Building a China-Laos Community of Destiny (2024-2028), signed in Beijing in October 2023, lists adherence to humanistic exchanges as one of the five major areas of the new five-year plan, injecting new vitality into the building of a China-Laos community of a shared future.
"The two sides will continue to strengthen humanistic exchanges and people-to-people exchanges, open more tourist routes, expand local cooperation, enhance cooperation and exchanges in study abroad and talents training, promote more exchanges and visits between civil and religious groups of the two countries, continuously enhance the relationship between the two peoples, and consolidate the public opinion foundation of friendship between the two countries for generations." The Joint Declaration of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Indonesia on Deepening All-round Strategic Cooperation, signed in October 2023, has made clear plans for the two sides to continue close humanistic exchanges and people-to-people exchanges.
On January 28th, the opening ceremony of the "Malaysia-China Friendship Night" and the 2024 Malaysia China Youth Arts Festival was successfully held at the Malaysian Chinese Congress Building. Youth art groups from China and Malaysia performed on the same stage and received warm applause from the audience of more than 1,000 people. Majid, president of the Malaysia China Friendship Association, told the newspaper.
Recently, more than 100 teenagers from China were interviewed in Malaysia, went into the local campus to communicate with their peers, and visited the historic district of Malacca ...... "It is gratifying to see young people from Malaysia and China get together to communicate." Majid said the festival is not only an important platform for cultural exchanges between the two countries, but also an important way to cultivate young representatives of friendship between the two countries. He said he hoped that such activities would further consolidate and deepen the friendly relations between Malaysia and China and lay a more solid foundation for future cooperation.
This year is also the "Year of China-Cambodia Humanistic Exchange". Not long ago, Siem Reap, Cambodia, hosted the launching ceremony of the "Year of China-Cambodia Humanistic Exchange". In the world heritage site of Angkor, Chinese and Cambodian artists performed wonderful cultural programs such as Joyfully Welcoming the Spring Festival on the ancient fighting platform, where the ancient civilization and modern culture and art merged with each other, which made people forget to go back.
The present elegance of Angkor monuments is closely related to the unremitting efforts and dedication of a group of Chinese experts. With their profound professionalism and exquisite restoration skills, they have become an important force in the international action to protect the Angkor monuments, giving a new connotation to the protection of cultural heritage between China and Cambodia. "We look forward to taking the 'Year of China-Cambodia Humanistic Exchange' as an opportunity to promote the growth of Chinese tourists to Cambodia, boost humanistic exchanges between the two countries, promote youth exchanges, and help build a community of destiny between Cambodia and China." Cambodian Tourism Minister Sok Sokhan said.
As the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Dragon is approaching, a variety of Chinese New Year activities have been launched in Thailand, Laos, Malaysia and other countries, creating a festive and peaceful atmosphere for local people to experience the Chinese New Year culture, and injecting vitality into the humanistic exchanges between China and ASEAN countries.
Not long ago, at the Prince Mahidol Concert Hall in Thailand, the Chinese Embassy in Thailand cooperated with the Faculty of Music of Mahidol University in organizing the "Sounds of Celebration - 2024 Joyful Spring Festival Concert". The Jade Zither Troupe composed of teachers and students from Zhejiang Conservatory of Music and Mahidol Symphony Orchestra performed High Mountains and Flowing Water, Butterfly Love, Dreaming of Lin'an, etc., and Spring Festival Overture with traditional musical instruments of the two countries, showed the charm and innovation of Chinese traditional music.
A few days ago, the "Chinese New Year Celebration and Chinese-Vietnamese Lunar New Year Cultural Exchange and Experience Activity" was held at Hanoi University in Vietnam. The audience experienced traditional Chinese skills such as calligraphy, Chinese painting, paper-cutting, etc., made and tasted traditional Chinese food such as zongzi, dumplings, soup dumplings, etc., and watched the Ao Dai, Chinese costume show and song and dance performances. In the warm interaction, teachers and students from China and Vietnam continued to deepen their understanding and friendship. "Vietnam and China are geographically close and have deep historical ties. As a link connecting the hearts and minds of the two peoples, cultural exchanges have always played an important role in the relationship between the two countries." Dai Qinge, head of the Chinese language department at Hanoi University in Vietnam, said.
On January 29, "Hello， China！" - 2024 Overseas Promotion Season for Ice and Snow Tourism in Northern China was held in Kuala Lumpur， Malaysia. "China has rich and diverse snow and ice resources, which are a great attraction to Malaysian tourists. Similarly, Malaysia's sunshine, beaches and cuisine are also attractive to Chinese tourists." Participating in this activity, Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board Deputy Chairman Yang Shunxing said. In the 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China, the two sides have developed close cooperation in a number of areas, looking forward to together to start the golden year of tourism between the two countries in 2024.
Recently, China and Singapore and Thailand have signed mutual visa-free arrangements, greatly facilitating personnel and business exchanges between China and ASEAN-related countries. "At the end of last year, the mutual visa-free policy between China and Malaysia was officially implemented. This measure has made it easier for many people to visit each other's countries, which is of great significance." Wu Tianquan, chairman of the executive committee of the Malaysia-China Business Council, said, "This series of measures will promote cooperation between ASEAN and China in various fields, including economy, trade and tourism."
Under the opportunity of China and ASEAN Cultural Exchange Year, China and ASEAN countries together implement the initiatives of global civilization, promote the core value of peace, cooperation, tolerance and integration, advance the mutual integration of both sides, and will bring new opportunities for both sides to create a prosperous future.
The Political Secretary to the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mr. Zeng Minkai, said that the concept of "Malaysia Madani" put forward by the Malaysian Government and the concept of building a community of human destiny put forward by China both emphasize the coordinated development of material civilization and spiritual civilization, and attach importance to cultural and civilizational exchanges. The people of both countries will benefit from the further strengthening of humanistic exchanges between Malaysia and China.
"China's global civilization initiative provides the world with the wisdom of 'harmony and difference', which can promote the coexistence of various cultures, harmonious coexistence, mutual learning and mutual appreciation." Weng Shijie, chairman of the New Asia Center for Strategic Studies in Malaysia, said.
China announced last year that in the next three years, it will build 10 "China-ASEAN Modern Artisan Colleges" in ASEAN countries, continue to carry out the "Bridge to the Future" China-ASEAN Young Leaders Training Program, and launch the "Ten Thousand People Training and Seminar Program" to cultivate 10,000 talents in the areas of governance, anti-corruption and green development in ASEAN countries. ...... China and ASEAN have strengthened exchanges in the areas of culture, tourism, and youth training, and continue to build a strong foundation of public opinion in the relations between the two sides.
Lao Deputy Foreign Minister Thongphan said that the Global Civilization Initiative, together with the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, constitutes an important support for building a community of shared destiny for mankind and meets the real needs of the international community, which is another public product provided by China to the world, and will surely play an important role in promoting the exchanges and mutual understanding of civilizations and realizing common development and prosperity for all countries.