Award ceremony and seminar for global short video contest China in My Eyes:Beautiful Countryside held successfully

Liu Jiayun

O n Dec15， the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries held a ceremony to honor the winners of the global short video contest China in My Eyes： Beautiful Countryside， which it organized to encourage expats to learn more about China’s rural areas. A seminar was simultaneously held.

Lin Songtian， president of the CPAFFC， presented certificates to the winners and delivered a keynote speech. Announcing the first， second and third prize winners were Li Xikui， vice-president of the CPAFFC； Zhao Hui， director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Jiangxi province and president of Jiangxi People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries； Shi Donglong， director of Foreign Affairs Office of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and president of the Guangxi People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries； Dai Zhen， director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Hainan province； Zhang Hanlin， director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Guizhou province； and Yao Hongjun， director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Shaanxi province and executive vice-president of the Shaanxi People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

Nearly 400 participants from home and abroad attended the award ceremony， either on site or online， including the heads of foreign affairs offices in 19 provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities of China； representatives of universities； contestants； and overseas students from 52 countries. The foreign affairs offices and friendship associations of all participating provinces organized a total of 32 sub-sessions via video link with Beijing.

The CPAFFC’s Lin expressed warm congratulations to the winners. He commended all the contestants， saying that through their online videos， the beauty of China’s rural areas were presented to the international community， especially the people of their own countries， in a vivid， faithful and three-dimensional way. Their short videos show the beauty of a livable rural environment， the beauty of traditional Chinese culture， the beauty of a green ecological environment， the beauty of prosperous development and the beauty of a good life enjoyed by the country’s rural residents with good health and longevity.

Noting that the contest was initiated by the CPAFFC， Lin said it aimed at encouraging foreign friends to visit rural areas in China and show to the world the real， colorful and vibrant look of these areas through videos and other forms of media， enhancing mutual understanding and friendship between China and the rest of the world.

Lin introduced the history of the Communist Party of China in uniting the Chinese people to create two miracles — rapid economic development and long-term social stability. He said that under the leadership of President Xi Jinping， the Party and the Chinese government have always put people first and stayed true to the Party’s original mission. By doing so， he said， China has overcome the “four global conundrums” of political corruption， environmental pollution， abject poverty and severe pandemic. “Today， the Party is committed to building a modern socialist country with common prosperity，” he said.

Lin said that achieving common prosperity is an essential requirement of socialism and a distinctive characteristic of China-style modernization. Rural revitalization is one precondition and priority for realizing common prosperity. Today， China is striding along the path of socialist rural revitalization with Chinese characteristics by grounding its work in this new stage of development， applying a new development philosophy and fostering a new pattern of development. It is committed to solving the major problem of unbalanced and inadequate development and narrowing the gap between urban and rural areas to facilitate the process of common prosperity for all.

Lin noted that the world today has changed and entered a new era. While China enjoys good governance， Western countries are suffering chaos. It is an irreversible trend that the East rises and the West declines， he said. The United States and some other capitalist countries， for the purpose of safeguarding their hegemony and vested interests， are unwilling to recognize China’s successful development and fearful to admit that such a great success has been made under socialism with Chinese characteristics led by the CPC.

Some Western countries， including the US， he said， still stick to a Cold War mentality and zero-sum game theory even though the world is well into the 21st century. They are not yet ready for the rapid rise of developing countries， including China， but can only resort to smearing and suppressing China and deceiving themselves. Their vicious plot runs counter to the trend of the times that features peace， development and cooperation. That plot will harm the interests of others while bringing no benefits to themselves. It will lose the support of the people and is doomed to fail， he said.

“In the fight against the pandemic， we once again have come to realize that we are bound together and share one planet，” Lin said. “The only correct choice for us is to pursue solidarity and cooperation， peaceful common development and opening-up. The Chinese people are ready to join hands with all peace-loving people around the world to build an open， inclusive， clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace， universal security and common prosperity and to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.”

After the award ceremony， 17 foreign participants spoke on the seminar’s three topics — the Charm of China’s Rural Culture in My Eyes， China’s Rural Green Ecology in My Eyes and Opening and Development of China’s Rural Areas in My Eyes— citing what they saw， heard and experienced in rural China.

They marveled at the historic changes in China’s rural areas and expressed sincere admiration for the achievements in poverty alleviation and rural revitalization made by the Chinese people led by the CPC and the Chinese government. They said they would like to play the role of ambassadors in people-to-people friendly exchanges， share China’s development stories and experiences， let more people understand and support China and work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

The contest was co-organized by 24 friendship associations of provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities in China and by Beijing Kuaishou Technology Co. The project lasted from June to September. Contestants from more than 40 countries submitted more than 360 short video works， which received 80 million views. In the end， 40 works stood out to win a special prize， two first prizes， five second prizes， 10 third prizes and 22“excellence” awards.

Xinhua News Agency， International Radio Online and other media outlets covered the event.