On March 23, Hu Heping, Minister of Culture and Tourism, met separately with Spanish Ambassador Descaya and Greek Ambassador Karpelis in Beijing.

At the meeting with Descaya, Hu said that on March 9 this year, President Xi Jinping and King Felipe VI exchanged congratulatory messages on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Spain, emphasizing that the Year of Culture and Tourism and a series of celebratory activities jointly organized by the two sides carry important and positive significance. Under the meticulous preparation of both sides, the Year of Culture and Tourism between China and the West will open in Spain at the end of March, with an opening concert, an exhibition of "The Legacy of China's Qin-Han Civilization", an exhibition of Song paintings from the "Chinese Paintings of All Ages", and an exhibition of "Chinese Tea Culture" and other exciting activities will be held. It is hoped that the two sides will take the Year of Culture and Tourism as an opportunity to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the fields of performing arts, visual arts, cultural heritage, creative design, and tourism exchanges, so as to promote the deepening of friendly relations between China and Spain.

Descaya thanked China for including Spain in the list of countries for the second batch of pilot resumption of outbound group tours for Chinese citizens, saying that Spain is ready to welcome Chinese tourists positively. And it is willing to work with the Chinese side to present a rich and colorful cultural and tourism activities, enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples during the year of culture and tourism, for the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Spain and China to add rich and various colors.
　　During his meeting with Karpelis, Hu said President Xi Jinping put forward the Global Civilization Initiative, and in his reply to a letter from Greek scholars, he pointed out that the establishment of the China-Greece Center for Mutual Enlightenment of Civilizations, which is dedicated to promoting exchanges and mutual understanding between Chinese and Greek civilizations as well as promoting the development of civilizations of all countries, is of great historical and epochal significance. China and Greece are both ancient civilizations, and should actively carry out exchanges and cooperation to build a model of mutual understanding between civilizations. From 2021 to 2023, the two countries will implement the important consensus reached between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Mitsotakis, and organize a series of highlight activities under the framework of the "Year of China-Greece Culture and Tourism," so as to continue to enhance mutual understanding and friendly ties between the two peoples. China is willing to make joint efforts with the Greek side to promote cooperation between the Chinese Cultural Center in Athens and the China-Greece Center for Mutual Understanding of Civilizations, give full play to the role of the Forum of the Ancient Civilizations and the China-Central and Eastern European Cooperation Mechanism, and actively implement the China-Greece Joint Plan of Action in the field of Tourism for the period of 2022-2024, so as to promote the accelerated resumption of the two-way tourism exchanges, and to open up new horizons for cultural and tourism exchanges and cooperation between the two countries.

Karpelis thanked China for its long-term attention and support to the cultural and tourism exchanges and cooperation between the two countries, and expressed appreciation for the successful organization of the "Year of Culture and Tourism in Greece and China". He expressed Greece's gratitude to China for including Greece in the list of the second batch of countries to resume outbound group tours for Chinese citizens on a pilot basis, and its willingness to work with China to promote the resumption of tourism cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, as well as its active preparations for welcoming Chinese tourists.