Delivering Chinese Culture to the World

Culture is the cornerstone of a nations self-confidence and soft power. In the process of building a moderately prosperous society， China has begun to attach great importance to the promotion and spread of Chinese culture， alongside its long term goals of economic growth and industrial development. Xie Jinying， Director of the Bureau for External Cultural Relations， Ministry of Culture， gave a comprehensive analysis on Chinas cultural promotion and its vision for the future. Excerpts of his article follow：

China is now at a critical stage in its efforts to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects， amid changing international environment and the transformation of world systems. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China （CPC） has put forward a series of new ideas and strategies， and deployed new methods to enhance the countrys soft power， pushing forward international cultural exchanges.

increasing exchanges

Chinese President Xi Jinping， also General Secretary of Central Committee of the CPC， stressed at the Central Conference on Work Re lating to Foreign Affairs in November 2014 that Chinas diplomacy should， under the leadership of the CPC， persist along the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics， as with an independent foreign policy of peace， democratization of international relations， win-win cooperation and correct concepts of justice and benefi t. These six points compose an important part of foreign policy with Chinese characteristics and serve as a guiding principle for Chinas international cultural exchanges in a new era.

Most important diplomatic events involve cultural activities， which can display the merits of Chinese culture whilst helping to strengthen bilateral relations.

In March 2013， President Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin jointly attended the opening ceremony of China-Russia Year of Tourism， watching the performance titled Beautiful China. In November 2014， President Xi and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott attended the opening ceremony for the China Cultural Center together in Sydney. In December 2015， President Xi attended the closing ceremony of the Year of China and again， in June 2016， attended the cornerstone laying ceremony for the China Cultural Center in Belgrade， Serbia， together with the countrys President Tomislav Nikoli？.

The establishment of inter-governmental， cultural relations with other countries serves to promote Chinas cultural exchanges. China has now signed cultural cooperation agreements with 157 countries， formalizing nearly 700 cultural exchange implementation plans， deepening high-level cultural exchange mechanisms with Russia， the United States， United Kingdom， Germany and the European Union， among others. China has developed established mechanisms of cultural exchanges with major countries and regions in all parts of the world.endprint

The Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China has been widely welcomed by countries along the Silk Road. In pursuing the Belt and Road Initiative， the cooperation between civilizations will promote exchanges and mutual understanding while reducing estrangement and confl icts. By doing this we can boost mutual learning， respect and trust among different countries. In order to push forward cultural exchanges and cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative， the Ministry of Culture has made a plan of action for the implementation of projects from 2016 to 2020.

The Ministry of Culture has already begun making headway in this respect. The key principles of the Belt and Road Initiative—extensive consultation， joint contribution and shared benefits—have been promoted through three major platforms， including the Silk Road International Arts Festival， the Maritime Silk Road International Art Festival and the Silk Road International Cultural Expo in Dunhuang， as well as the cultural sections of the China （Shenzhen） International Cultural Industries Fair and Shanghai International Arts Festival. The Ministry also provided support for other maritime Silk Road events in Quanzhou， a coastal city in southeast Chinas Fujian Province， including the construction of the Maritime Silk Road Art Park which features national exhibition booths for countries along the maritime Silk Road. In Yinchuan， capital of northwest Chinas Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region， we helped build the Sculpture Garden of China-Arab Friendship in accordance with the development strategy of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum.

Another means of strengthening cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road is the protection of historical and cultural relics. In June 2014 the combined efforts of China， Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan saw the Routes Network of Changan-Tianshan Corridor successfully added to UNESCOs list of World Heritage Sites， and Chinese cooperation in archaeological projects with countries such as India， Bangladesh and Tajikistan along the ancient Silk Road aims to discover and preserve a shared heritage which can facilitate future partnerships.

Strengthening soft power

China has extended its international cultural exchanges through the establishment of communication platforms between Chinese and foreign think tanks， as well as within academic circles. Events like the symposium on China studies and visiting programs for junior sinologists have received a positive reception， extending the infl uence of Chinese culture and values around the globe. Since 2013， China has held five symposiums on China studies， and carried out 10 visiting programs， providing a platform for the visit of 125 well-known sinologists from 49 countries， as well as 360 junior scholars from 95 countries， to China.endprint

The Happy Chinese New Year series of events have achieved great success in foreign cities with an expanding global influence. In 2017， more than 2，000 Happy Chinese New Year shows and events have been held in over 500 cities across 140 countries， reaching an audience of 280 million overseas. International mainstream media outlets in around 20 languages covered these events， broadcasting to a combined audience of 3 billion. These fi gures underline the important role cultural programs have assumed in the project of spreading Chinese culture. In many places around the world， Spring Festival is increasingly celebrated and appropriated by local people.

We are making efforts to build more Chinese culture centers overseas through cooperation with local governments and social organizations. So far， more than 30 of these overseas Chinese culture centers have been put into operation， holding more than 4，000 cultural activities involving 8 million people. These centers represent stages from which to present the essential elements of Chinese culture， whilst portraying Chinas national image around the world.

In cyber space too， Chinese culture has seen its infl uence spread. The offi cial website for promoting Chinese Culture， Chinaculture.org， has become the most important web portal for China-foreign cultural exchanges， after recently undergoing a comprehensive revamp. Through social media platforms， Chinese culture is also appealing to more and more internet users around the world.

The past fi ve years have witnessed the rapid growth of Chinas foreign trade and investment in culture， which has given rise to the increasing infl uence of Chinese culture around the world. As the market for culture becomes more valuable and diverse， private companies have been a major force in the export of Chinese cultural products and services. China has established cultural centers for foreign trade in Shanghai， Beijing and Shenzhen， exploring and developing new models for driving the industry as the total volume of cultural products reached $88.52 billion in 2016. The export of cultural products reached $78.66 billion with a surplus of $68.8 billion， whilst the export of cultural entertain- ment and advertising services reached $5.43 billion， up 31.8 percent year on year. In the culture， sports and entertainment sectors， Chinas direct investments in foreign markets stood at$3.92 billion， up 188.3 percent over the previous year.endprint

open to the world

The Central Government has stressed that the cultural sector is an important aspect of the countrys opening up and through enhanced cultural exchanges， China looks to maintain a close relationship with the rest of the world.

Over the past five years， we have held many international cultural events， such as the China Shanghai International Arts Festival， the Beijing Music Festival， the International Festival of Intangible Cultural Heritage Chengdu， the China Xinjiang International Dance Festival， the China International Chorus Festival， the China Wuqiao International Circus Festival， and the Silk Road International Arts Festival. These activities have not only enhanced the relations between Chinese and international artists， but also provided them with good opportunities to learn from each other.

China has also strengthened its participation in multilateral cultural communication and cooperation. Through international platforms like UNESCO， China has been working with the international community to revise and implement the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage， and the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions， which has helped increase the influence of Chinas discourse within the forum of global culture. A total of 31 Chinese entries have been listed by UNESCOs Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity， with seven added to the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. Whilst the important cultural phenomena of many countries feature on the list， it is China that boasts more than any other signatory.

The CPC Central Committee has put forward and issued a series of policies for promoting Chinese culture overseas， reflecting cultures increasing importance in the cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics. These policies make clear our mission to improve the nations soft power by delivering a favorable impression of China to the world and promoting communication between people.

In the future， we will continue to explore new theories and practice new methods in international cultural exchanges， making further contributions toward promoting Chinese culture around the world， and at the same time enhancing Chinas cultural soft power.endprint