CCTV:
Mr. Xu's introduction let me see that the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations is a large-scale event that is rich in content and plural in forms. It is fair to say that the world will focus its attention on Beijing again. In your opinion, what are the main highlights and characteristics of this event? Thanks.
Xu Lin:
The CDAC will show Asian civilizations' charms, and promote exchange and mutual learning of all civilizations in the world. The event's broad participation and rich content were already shown through my introduction. I would like to summarize its highlights and characteristics in four aspects as follows.
First, it grips the theme and responds to questions of the times. Among different civilizations of modern world, should the relations be conflict or dialogue, confrontation or cooperation? The answers to these questions concern humanity's future and fate, and these are also questions of the times concerning the development of human civilizations. The conference's theme is "Exchanges and Mutual Learning among Asian Civilizations and a Community with a Shared Future." The conference will follow the theme, follow the overall trend of cooperation and development, carry forward the people's wishes for civilization exchange and organize in-depth discussions on the diversity of Asian civilizations, as well as the mutual learning and exchange between these civilizations. In this way, it will further explore the importance and meaning of civilization exchange to the construction of a community of shared future for mankind, and build a bridge connecting the hearts of different peoples.
Second, it shows the concepts of inclusiveness and common progress. The conference is based on Asia but it faces the world. It is related to all countries of Asia and open to all civilizations in the world. It invites representatives of all 47 Asian countries, who are from the circles of literature, arts, film, cultural relics, think tanks, media and youth. The conference also invites representatives from outside of Asia, which builds a good platform for mutual exchange and mutual learning of different civilizations so that they can make progress together.
Third, the conference shows the diversity of civilizations, which are colorful and can coexist in harmony. The event consists of an opening ceremony, panel discussions, the Asian Culture Carnival and Asian Civilization Week, which involves more than 110 activities that will demonstrate the diversity and charm of Asian civilizations, as well as the profound historical background of the Chinese civilization and the exchange and integration of Asian and world civilizations. The Asian Culture Carnival can be regarded as a highlight of the conference, which is based on the concept of inter-connectivity and the shared future of Asia, and will present the world with a great event on civilization, featuring grand exchange of Chinese and foreign civilizations, grand integration of different cultures and a grand gala of different peoples.
Fourth, the conference highlights the principle of broad participation. It is oriented to the needs of the people, pays attention to attracting public participation and strives to improve people's sense of participation, experience, benefit and happiness. The well-designed Asian Culture Carnival and Asian Civilization Week will present many public lectures, square performances, shows and exhibitions at affordable ticket prices, as well as films to meet the needs of people's spiritual and cultural life and expectations of the future. We have also strived to arrange a proper time for the gourmet festival activities to meet the needs of the people and attract more people to participate into them.
We also expect that you reporters can come to take a look at the civilization cruise, and relevant exhibitions and shows, and sample foods from around Asia to experience the diversity of Asian civilizations. It is believed the conference will provide the world with collective participation, dialogues of plural civilizations, colorful cultural exchange and lively cultural experiences. It will leave an important mark on the history of human civilizations exchange. Thank you.
China Arab TV:
Recently, the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was successfully held in Beijing. President Xi Jinping said that China will build the Belt and Road Initiative into a road of peace, prosperity, openness and innovation and a road that brings together different civilizations. What does the theme of the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations have in common with President Xi's proposal ?
Kong Xuanyou:
Dialogue between civilizations and cultural exchanges are a major component of the Belt and Road Initiative. At the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation concluded just now, President Xi stressed that we need to actively build bridges for cultural exchange and mutual learning. He also said that we needed to deepen cooperation in education, science, technologies, culture, sports, tourism, health and archaeology, in order to facilitate multi-faceted people-to-people exchanges.
The Belt and Road is not only a road to development and prosperity, but also a road to the integration of civilizations. Historically, the Silk Road was not only a way of trading goods, but also a major artery of exchanges between civilizations. It spread right across the Egyptian, Babylonian and Indian civilizations, and hosted the gathering places of Buddhist, Christian and Islamic believers. It also crossed the settlements of peoples of different nationalities and colors. Different civilizations, religions and races were able to seek common ground while reserving differences, and together wrote a great poem of mutual respect and painted a beautiful picture of common development.
The holding of the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations can be said to be a positive attempt to promote the construction of a road that brings together different civilizations along the Belt and Road routes. We should uphold the ideals of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning, and the pursuit of win-win solutions. We should transcend civilization barriers through exchanges, transcend civilization conflicts by mutual learning, and transcend the sense of superiority by coexistence of civilizations. We should promote mutual understanding, respect and trust. We hope the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations will further enrich the cooperation concept of the Belt and Road Initiative, and write a new chapter of Belt and Road cooperation. Thank you.
BTV:
I have noticed that Beijing will hold a series of activities like parades and food festivals during the conference. A lot of people would like to participate in these activities. Could you please share how you will guarantee people's participation? Thank you.
Du Feijin:
Thanks for your question. By drawing upon the successful experiences in facilitating large-scale international conferences and activities, we have carefully designed the Asian Civilization Parade and the Asian Cuisine Festival in accordance with the principle of facilitating people. We will introduce a series of measures to make sure local people can participate in the events, through which Beijing citizens can experience other Asian civilizations, cultural exchanges and the festive atmosphere. It will be a civilization festival featuring culture, food and technology.
The civilization parade and cuisine festival will be held simultaneously in the central area of the Olympic Park between May 16 and May 22. The parade, which features the distinctive cultures of Asian countries, comprises four parts including "Beautiful China," "Colorful Asia," "Shenzhou Charm" and "Beijing Welcomes You." A performance will be staged at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. each day, allowing an audience of about 13,000 per day. We have invited 28 well-known performance groups from home and abroad to the parade. In addition, we have arranged for parade buses and a graffiti wall featuring Asian cultures.
The cuisine festival will feature 14 exhibitions & taste activities at the main venue, with additional food festivals at six shopping malls across the city with over 200 domestic and foreign food companies participating. Eight exhibition areas will be established at the main venue to display three major Asian food cultures: "taste," "technique" and "tableware." Apart from the wonderful parade performances, visitors will have the opportunity to take a taste of food from countries like Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Japan. At the exhibition areas of "Food Technology and Inheritance" and "Modern Smart Cuisine," visitors can experience via VR and AI technologies the smart services in today's food industry and get a sense of the changes that traditional industries have witnessed thanks to modern technology.
Food festivals will be simultaneously held in six malls across the city including China World Mall, Solana, Hopson One, Chaoyang Joy City, Golden Resources Mall, and Wukesong Huaxi Shopping Center. Asian food restaurants will be encouraged to hold sales activities to attract more citizens to enjoy the festivals. By a conservative estimate, the food festivals will reach at least one million people. In order to benefit the people, activities like Asian Food Week will be launched with the help of multiple internet platforms during the cuisine festival. Online promotions such as red envelopes discounts, group buying for characteristic dishes and Asian food restaurants recommendations will be introduced.
The parade and cuisine festival at the main venue are open to invited guests as well as the public through online booking. 7,000 tickets per day will be dished out online. Those who are interested in the event can book tickets online. We hope that the media can help report the event in advance and your coverage will attract more people to these events. Thank you!
Strait Times:
We have noticed that some people believe China is trying to use this conference to expand its influence. Is China trying to unite Asian civilizations to respond to the pressures from the West?
Xu Lin:
First of all, I want to emphasize that we hold the CDAC not to provoke confrontation between different civilizations, but to promote dialogue, mutual learning and common progress. We have noticed the views on the international stage. Some people are trying to draw the public attention to the so-called competition, conflict, or confrontation between the East and the West. If people believe this because of some misunderstanding, it proves that a dialogue between different civilizations is necessary, valuable and meaningful. But if people spread such views out of ill intentions, trying to provoke conflict and confrontation, then they will lose public support and are doomed to failure.
From the development of China's 5,000-year-old civilization, we can determine that the Chinese civilization is deeply rooted in our land, and has been enriched by other civilizations through communications. The ocean is vast because it admits hundreds of rivers. Throughout our history, we have pursued harmony in diversity and pursued mutual enrichment. We have lived harmoniously with other civilizations, learnt from each other through dialogue, and sought progress together. The world consists of many colorful civilizations, which are equal and inclusive. Regarding different civilizations, we believe in the notion that all countries should respect the interests of others while pursuing their own, and should advance the common interests of all. To show respect to the diversity of civilizations, we should first respect, cultivate and develop our own civilization. Meanwhile, we should respect and appreciate other civilizations. We should pursue common progress through dialogue, integration and mutual learning. Joint efforts to this end will surely promote the sustained peace, prosperity and development of our world, thus building a community with a shared future for mankind.
From the history of human development, wheat was first planted on the Anatolian Plateau in the Euphrates and Tigris rivers basins, rice was first planted in the Yangtze River basin in China, while cotton was developed in the Indus and Ganges. These beginnings and fruits of different human civilizations have become crucial material bases for human survival thanks to exchanges and sharing. That is an example of exchanges, mutual learning and sharing among civilizations.
China not only advocates cultural exchanges and mutual learning, but also works to promote such exchanges. President Xi Jinping proposed on many important international occasions that different civilizations should pursue inclusiveness, mutual learning, and draw on each other to achieve common progress. The purpose of this conference is to provide a platform to spread progress and carry forward the achievements of the civilizations of Asia and the world, while promoting exchanges and mutual learning among different countries and civilizations, so as to advance the development of human civilization and build a community with a shared future for mankind. In my opinion, it demonstrates that China has lived up to its responsibility as a major country in terms of promoting world peace and development and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. Thank you.
Sri Lanka Mirror:
Mr. Zhang, it was mentioned just now that a total of 47 countries will participate in a series of cultural tourism activities to be held during the event. Would you please give more details about these activities? Thank you.
Zhang Xu:
I am very glad to answer your question. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is mainly responsible for coordination and implementation of activities under the conference's framework such as the parallel sessions of Culture, Tourism and People-to-People Exchanges, and the Asian Civilization Week, which includes an Asian Cultural Tourism Exhibition, Asian Civilization Joint Exhibition (cultural relics and art exhibitions), and Asian Cultural Performances. The ministry will also assist the China Media Group and Beijing Municipality in hosting the Asian Cultural Carnival and Asian Civilization Parade.
The parallel sub forum on Culture, Tourism and People-to-People Exchanges will be held at the National Convention Center on May 15. At Present, around 120 foreign guests have confirmed their attendance to the event, including former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand Phinij Jarusombat, who will also make keynote speeches during the session. The Asian Culture and Tourism Exhibition will be held from May 16 to 18. Travel agencies from 31 Chinese provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) and 23 other countries and regions will participate in the exhibition, with the number of representatives reaching 160 and 200, respectively. Cambodia and Laos will attend the conference as Guests of Honor. A series of events will also be launched during the exhibition, including the Asian Travel Agencies Conference, Chinese Cultural Tourism Promotion Seminar, Asian World Heritage Image Exhibition, and the Asian Cultural Tourism Products Fair. The Asian Civilization Joint Exhibition includes cultural relics and art exhibitions. The art exhibition consists of one main exhibition and four smaller ones. The main art exhibition will be opened at the National Art Museum of China on May 10. Four other sub-exhibitions, covering the themes of intangible cultural heritage, digital art, oracle bone script and literature, will be held at different museums across Beijing. Amongst the sub-exhibitions, the one named The Memories in Oracle Bone Script is a permanent exhibition. Some of you may have already seen it. The other three will be launched during May 7 and June 13. The cultural relics exhibition will be opened at National Museum of China on May 13. Some 300 artifacts from more than 20 Asian countries will be displayed. The Exhibition of Treasures from National Museums along the Silk Road will also be presented as a part of the CDAC event. The Asian Cultural Festival is scheduled to raise the curtain on May 14 with the debut of Ballet Gala of Asia at Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center. It will be jointly performed by artists from China's Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines. Later, the audience will enjoy an audio-visual feast in a series of colorful and diversified activities, including concert, drama, dance and etc. Moreover, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has invited foreign artists to join in the Asian Cultural Carnival and the Asian Civilization Parade. About 750 of them will perform in the Asian Cultural Carnival, and 480 others in the Asian Civilization Parade. That's all for my introduction. Thank you.
Kyodo News:
Japan and China are two important Asian civilizations. The leaders of the two countries recognize that notable progress has been made in improving bilateral relations over the past few years. In your opinion, how will their relations influence the exchanges among Asian civilizations? And what does China expect Japan to do to maintain the momentum?
Kong Xuanyou:
Mr. Xu just introduced the background and significance of the conference in detail. Focusing on Asia while facing the world, the conference will present the outstanding achievements made by different Asian civilizations, while also showing diversified world civilizations as a whole. These should be the purposes of the conference.
It is obvious that, with two-thirds of the world's population, over 1,000 ethnic groups and a total of 47 countries, Asia has a glorious history of interconnection among different civilizations, including Islam, Christianity, India and China. Therefore, Asia represents a region where different civilizations exist in harmony. And we believe Asia is capable of spearheading the exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations.
However, Asia cannot make headway and embrace a promising future without paying due attention to the major trends in global development. Therefore, the conference is designed to be inclusive of civilizations outside Asia and embracing friends from different regions all around the world. Actually, other than the 47 Asian countries, we have invited prestigious scholars and important guests from nearly 50 non-Asian countries to join us in relevant events of literature, arts, think tanks, media and youth work. They come from countries in Africa, Europe, the Americas and Oceania.
China and Japan have a history of more than 2,000 years of friendly exchanges. Jianzhen, an eminent Chinese monk of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) who travelled to Japan to preach Buddhism, and Abe no Nakamaro, a Japanese scholar who studied in China during the Tang Dynasty and subsequently died in the country, are vivid examples of the cultural linking between the two countries. They left much of valuable thought and ideas for both sides, which have been passed down and inherited by numerous generations.
Through the joint efforts of China and Japan, bilateral relations have returned to normal and achieved new development. In the new historical era, exchanges between the two civilizations and mutual learning will be conducive to further tapping the similar genes in regard to our cultural relations, deepening mutual understanding, trust and friendship between the two peoples, and opening up better prospects for further development of bilateral relations.
We sincerely hope that China and Japan will join hands and work together in proposing new ideas for partnership in win-win cooperation, and create a new situation of exchange and mutual learning between Asian and world civilizations. The beneficial explorations and practices of both sides will help further substantiate the connotation of a community with a shared future for mankind. Thank you.
Phoenix Satellite TV:
You have mentioned the conference is on a rather large scale with a vast number of participants, and this may present some challenges in terms of service. My question is: How will you seek to solve such problems? What specific measures will you take? Thank you.
Du Feijin:
Thank you for your question. As you said, the conference features high level, large scale, rich contents and diversified events and extends over a long period. Providing excellent service for such a conference is an important task the central authorities have given to Beijing. It shows the central authorities have full trust in us. We have made intensive efforts to plan, organize and coordinate related works, so as to provide sound service over a full range, including publicity, reception, transportation, security, venue preparation, environmental protection, volunteer services, safe production, food safety, air quality improvement, and good healthcare. Generally, our efforts can be divided into three aspects.
First, effective efforts have been undertaken to organize and support the conference. All related departments under the municipal government are meeting the strictest requirements in organizing and supporting the many tasks, such as examining and building conference venues, producing and distributing passes, arranging hotels for guests and journalists, designing and decorating the streets, improving the environment, preparing vehicles for the conference, hiring and training volunteers, and establishing medical teams. Sound services will be provided in all areas, including dietary requirements, accommodation, transportation, organizing events and overall security.
Second, effective efforts have been undertaken in regard to the important work. The carnival is a major event and a special activity of the conference. The construction of the carnival stage is challenging, with high requirements in regard to power supply. All concerned departments have worked hard to ensure smooth construction of the stage through close communications and coordination. On April 15, a power transmission capability of 11,200 kW was ready at 56 spots. On April 22, the stage was completed. On April 27, a rehearsal of all performers, including extras, was held in the National Stadium.
Third, we fully intend to provide final solutions to every single challenge that might arise. In addition to the support services to safeguard the smooth running of the event, we are responsible for maintaining good order among the spectators and visitors expected to watch the relevant parades or attend gourmet festivals. The preparatory work has been difficult since it involves many different jobs at spots over long distances and covering a great number of areas. However, with the concerted efforts taken by the various parties involved, we have managed to address the most daunting challenges properly, such as where and how the figurants can rehearse, how to plan the pedestrian and traffic flows, how to guide the performances of overseas troupes and where to fix and how to arrange the main areas of gourmet festivals.
To provide convenience to the media, we have established eight functional blocks, including a comprehensive service area, a press conference center, open media workplace, exclusive media workplace, monitoring center, cultural exhibition center, a catering area and a tearoom, at the conference news center. This has all the facilities needed for broadcasting, a good office infrastructure and a high-speed Internet network enabling journalists to fully cover the event and work in cozy surroundings.
I would also like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to our citizens in Beijing for their great hospitality and a strong sense of participation. They have given us substantial support and shown deep understanding in every major event held so far this year. Their active involvement, as a result of their broadminded attitudes, hospitality, openness, inclusiveness and indifference to fortune and fame, has demonstrated the great legacy of this unique city. Therefore, please allow me to show my sincere admiration to all. Thank you for your question.
China Daily:
Mr. Zhang, you have just now mentioned that a series of colorful cultural and tourism activities will be held during the conference. What significance do these activities have in boosting the cultural exchange and cooperation between China and other Asian countries? Thank you.
Zhang Xu:
As we know, Asian countries have long histories and diversified cultures. The birth and development of Asian civilizations have made positive and important contributions to the development of world civilization, and serve as a main force in maintaining world peace and harmony. Under the background of globalization, it is imperative that countries in Asia join hands to deal effectively with constantly arising cultural conflicts and other new challenges. In March 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris. In his speech, Xi elaborated both broadly and profoundly on his views and propositions regarding exchange and mutual learning among human civilizations, putting forward that "civilizations come in different colors, and such diversity has made exchange and mutual learning among civilizations relevant and valuable; civilizations are equal, and such equality has made exchange and mutual learning among civilizations possible; civilizations are inclusive, and such inclusiveness has given exchange and mutual learning among civilizations the needed drive to move forward." Xi's speech pointed to our current direction in seeking approaches to address the problems facing human society today.
The cultural and tourism activities under the framework of the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations (CDAC) are very rich and colorful, and are highly participatory and interactive with cultural connotations. Through these activities, we hope the conference will further enhance cultural dialogue among Asian countries and promote exchanges between the Chinese cultural tourism industry and our Asian counterparts, so as to better improve the mutual understanding among Asian countries and strengthen win-win cooperation in the fields of culture, arts and tourism.
Therefore, we firmly believe that by sharing the achievements of cultural and tourism activities within the framework of the conference, we will be able to further raise the importance of cultural diversity and cross-cultural dialogue to different countries. We hope to promote culture, artistic and tourism exchanges among different countries to enhance mutual understanding and people-to-people connectivity, and build an inclusive environment of mutual understanding to promote the coexistence and harmony between different ethnic groups and between mankind and nature, so that every country and culture will be able to play a positive role and become an important force to promote the sustainable development of human beings. Thank you.
Hong Kong Economic Herald:
I have a question for Mr. Xu Lin. What consensus will be reached at the conference? How do you evaluate the contribution of Asian civilizations to global civilization? Thanks.
Xu Lin:
The ultimate consensus of the conference is up to the participating members. As far as what we have seen, I believe there will be a positive consensus on mutual exchanges, mutual learning and common development between different civilizations. I am sure this conference will help translate the participating members' notions of civilization and then transform that into concrete actions based on equality, inclusiveness, exchanges and cooperation. The outcomes of the conference will relate to these areas.
As we all know, Asia is of considerable significance to the globe in terms of population, nations and GDP. If we look at the development of the global civilization, the cultivation of wheat, rice and cotton was first seen in Asia. Ancient civilizations along the Nile, Tigris, Euphrates, Ganges, Indus, Yellow and Yangtze rivers have all made distinctive contributions to the history of human civilization. Asia itself is home to diverse civilizations which have co-existed, exchanged and learned from each other, and developed hand in hand, setting a good example to other regions and contributing a lot to the diverse development of the global civilization. Thank you.
Guo Weimin:
Today's press conference concludes. Thanks to all.
