Second China-South Asia Cultural Forum And China-Nepal Conference on Cultural Exchanges

The visit to India and Nepal by a CPAFFC cultural delegation led by Vice President Jing Dunquan in December provided an outstanding opportunity to review the future shape of non-government relations of these two countries with their northern neighbor in both the short- and medium-term.

An important purpose of the visit from December 4 to 12 was to attend the Second China-South Asia Cultural Forum in New Delhi and the China-Nepal Conference on Cultural Exchanges in Kathmandu. However， the delegation also took the opportunity to pay an official call on Nepalese Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal， and hold substantive talks with leading officials of their respective friendship organization in the two countries.

The Second China-South Asia Cultural Forum was co-sponsored by the CPAFFC and the India-China Institute and co-organized by Peking University， the Beijing Foreign Studies University， Shenzhen University， the University of Delhi and the Jawaharlal Nehru University of India. Its theme was “Looking at China and South Asia in the Modern World from the Perspective of Geo-Civilization”.

Jing Dunquan， CPAFFC Vice President， Zhang Yan， Chinese Ambassador to India， Veerappa Moily，Union Minister of Law and Justice of India， Prof. Manoranjan Mohanty， Co-Chairman of the Indian Institute of Chinese Studies， and noted Chinese scholar Professor Tan Zhong attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. In his speech， Jing Dunquan reviewed the history of friendly exchanges between China and India over two millennia and noticeable achievements in the political， economic， trade， cultural and tourist exchanges in recent years. He put forward the following four suggestions on future China-India cooperation and exchanges: to enhance trust and reduce misgivings and strengthen cooperation; increase youth exchanges and create a future of friendship; carry out cultural exchanges as the central work so as to create multi-directional exchanges; revive oriental culture and jointly build an Asian epoch. He also briefed the participants about the contents and aim of CPAFFC’s work， pointing out that the con- ducting of friendly exchanges with South Asian countries was an important component part of this work. The cultural forum they were all attending was a specific example of this.

About 100 scholars on international relations and personages of cultural circles from China， India， the United States， the United Kingdom， Canada， Singapore， Hong Kong held three days of academic discussions around the theme. To support the successful convening of the forum， the CPAFFC cultural delegation held a photo exhibition Confucianism. The exhibition， in the form of photos combined with texts， displayed the life story of Confucius and the founding， inheritance and evolution of Confucianism. Through the exhibition， many visitors came to know about Confucius and got a deeper understanding of his philosophy. The exhibition helped popularize and publicize ancient Chinese civilization.

To enliven the forum， the delegation held a show of dresses with traditional Chinese paper-cut patterns.Besides inviting local Indian female university students who loved Chinese culture to act as models， female members of the delegation also took part in modeling. The audience was attracted by the dresses with unique and beautiful paper-cut patterns and warmly applauded the show. The Chinese and Indian models’ excellent performance in a lively atmosphere was a delightful climax to the opening ceremony.

The successful convening of the forum in India on the occasion of the upcoming 60th anniversary of the establishment of China-India diplomatic relations will deepen understanding between the two countries， enhance trust， reduce misgivings and impact profoundly on the development of a long-term good neighborly and friendly relationship between China and India and other South Asian neighboring nations as well.

After the forum， the delegation went to Nepal to attend the China-Nepal Conference on Cultural Exchanges. During the two-day visit， the delegation met with personages of Nepalese friendship-with-China organizations and friends of various circles and carried out rich and colorful cultural exchange activities.

On December 12， Nepalese Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal cordially met with Jing Dunquan and chief members of the delegation. Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Qiu Guohong was also present. The two sides exchanged views on promoting Sino-Nepalese friendly relations. Prime Minister Nepal noted that his country and China had enjoyed traditional friendship and friendly contacts since ancient times and these had stood the test of time. He pointed out that， no matter how the Nepal Government might change， the friendship between the Nepalese and the Chinese peoples remained unaltered. He also briefed about the development of Nepal and expressed his thanks to China for its support and aid. Jing Dunquan expressed his appreciation and thanks to the Nepalese side for its consistent support for China’s stance on the questions related to Tibet and its vigorous support for China’s efforts to crack down on Tibetan separatist activities.

The China-Nepal Conference on Cultural Exchanges was held in Kathmandu December 11 to 12. Chinese Ambassador Qiu Guohong and leaders and members of about 20 Nepalese friendship-with-China organizations including the World Cultural Net of Nepal (WCNN)， the Nepal-China Friendship Association， the Nepal-China Friendship Youth Association，the Nepal Arniko Society， the Nepal-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry， the Nepal-China Media Association， the National Council ofCRI (China Radio International) Listeners’ Clubs， as well as overseas Chinese in Nepal and friendly personages totaling more than 110 people attended the conference.

In his speech， Jing Dunquan reviewed recent years’ exchanges and cooperation between the CPAFFC and various Nepalese friendship organizations and briefed about the CPAFFC’s work particularly the China South Asia Friendship Organizations’ Forum held in Beijing in October 2009. He expressed his appreciation of Nepalese friendship organizations for their many years of contributions to the cause of friendship between China and Nepal and suggested that the friendship organizations of the two countries strengthen exchanges and cooperation in various fields on the occasion of 55th anniversary of the establishment of China-Nepal diplomatic relations in 2010. Dipak Sarkar， President of the WCNN， on behalf of all the Nepalese friendship organizations， responded. He expressed his welcome to the CPAFFC cultural delegation， saying their visit gave Nepalese friendship organizations greatest encouragement and support in their work. He said the CPAFFC had played an indispensable role in promoting the development of relations between China and Nepal and enhancing friendship between the two peoples. Members of the delegation from Haikou， Guizhou， Foshan and Zhengzhou spoke at the conference， briefing the Nepalese participants about developments inculture and tourism in their respective cities and provinces and expressing their willingness to conduct exchanges and cooperation with Nepalese local organizations to promote the development of the cause of friendship between China and Nepal.

At the conference the Department of Cultural Exchange of the CPAFFC and the WCNN signed a memorandum of cooperation in cultural exchanges.

During its visit to India and Nepal， the delegation paid attention to promoting people-to-people exchanges and interactions from cultural perspectives aiming at enhancing mutual understanding， deepening friendship and boosting a sound development of the relations between China and South Asian countries. The delegation consisted of 44 members from 11 Chinese provinces and 14 cities. Most of the members selected from their local cultural， publicity and foreign affairs departments and had intimate knowledge of the culture of their respective provinces and cities. The visit helped them broaden their vision and make more friends， laying a foundation for future exchanges between local governments of China and India and Nepal.