Heart-to-heart Exchanges Make for Lasting Friendships

By staff reporter LI GUOWEN

THE Shanghai Cooperation Organization （SCO） has eight member states， four observer states， and six dialogue partners， which in total cover a vast expanse of the planets landmass with diverse cultures， ethnic groups， languages， and religious beliefs. As an important region that the ancient Silk Road traverses， it has seen interactions and exchanges among different civilizations and cultures since ancient times， forming a tradition characterized by mutual respect， openness， and inclusiveness， which has created conditions for people to have cultural exchanges with each other and laid down a foundation for building a regional community of a shared future.

A lighting and fireworks show set over water above the Fushan Bay at 9 pm on June 9 in Qingdao kicked off the SCO Qingdao Summit. The show consisted of several parts such as A Moonlit Night， The Charm of Shandong， Nation of Peace and Prosperity， Towards a Better Future， and the Community of a Shared Future. The performances during the show displayed the profundity and expanse of the Chinese culture， as well as the “Shanghai Spirit” that has been valued by SCO members.

Cultural Exchanges Boost Mutual Understanding

“I would like to cover stories of how the Chinese enterprises take social responsibility in improving education and reducing poverty，” Khan Abdul Wajid， a reporter with Independent News Pakistan （INP） told China Today at the SCO Qingdao Summit. This is his first visit

to China. After the summit， he and his colleagues will have exchanges with their Chinese counterparts in the following four months. He admitted that he is enthusiastically looking forward to their ventures in China.

In fact， there are ongoing people-to-people exchanges such as the one that Khan has participated in between China and other SCO countries. On June 10， Chinese President Xi Jinping again called on member states of the SCO to forge closer ties through people-topeople and cultural exchanges. He said in the next three years， China will provide 3，000 training opportunities on human resources development to SCO member states to enhance public understanding and support for the SCO family.

Over the past 17 years since it was founded， the SCO has built a bridge of friendship and made itself a paradigm in promoting mutual understanding among nations. Over the past year since China took over the rotating presidency of the SCO， more than 200 activities including a series of important institutional meetings and bilateral or multilateral events have been held， comprehensively boosting people-to-people and cultural exchanges and consolidating the public opinion foundation for the development of SCO in terms of politics， economy， and trade， as well as security. In May of 2018 alone， the first meeting of tourism ministers from SCO nations， the 15th meeting of cultural ministers of the SCO member states， the first SCO womens forum， and the first SCO medium summit were held. A series of activities have helped promote mutual understanding and friendship among the peoples of SCO member states. Cooperation and people-to-people exchanges in fields of education， culture， healthcare， sports， tourism， and communication are carried out with great momentum.

As an iconic media platform of popular culture， film serves as a cultural bridge that entertains people as well as influences them in the most profound ways. The SCO Film Festival， the first of its kind， was held in Qingdao on June 13. According to an official with the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Qingdao Committee， the festival invited delegations， artists， and representatives of enterprises from the eight member states and four observer states. A total of 60 movies were screened to the audience presenting them with enthralling panorama of the many charms of different SCO member countries.

Not only does China periodically hold cultural festivals and activities with other SCO member， observer， and dialogue partner countries， but do other SCO nations organize activities cooperating with each other， including artistic performances， themed exhibitions， cultural forums， art symposiums， and film festivals. Those cooperative activities are effective in promoting mutual understanding amongst each other. An old Chinese saying that aptly illustrates this goes that only heart-to heart exchanges can form lasting friendships.

Tourism Cooperation among SCO Members

People-to-people exchanges and cooperation can not only strengthen mutual trust and forge close bonds between peoples， but also promote economic development. So does cooperation in tourism. On June 8， on the eve of the SCO Qingdao Summit， Xue Yaping， director of the department of tourism promotion and international cooperation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China， said， as SCO member states are neighbors linked by rivers and mountains， their coop-eration in tourism can greatly boost their respective economic development in particular after India and Pakistan were taken in by the organization. According to Xue， in 2017 alone， people from the other SCO states made 3.617 million visits to China， a year-on-year increase of 11.75 percent.

Bright prospects promote the implementation of tourism cooperation policies. The “2019-2020 Joint Action Plan for Implementing the SCO Tourism Cooperation Programme” is one of the several documents signed at the Qingdao Summit. The Plan covers five areas： cooperation among tourism departments of the eight member states， cooperation on their tourism products， tourism services， the protection of the lawful rights and interests of tourists， travel safety assurance， and scientific research. The plan fits in with the regional cooperation demands and situations on tourism within the SCO framework in recent years， and embodies new progress and trends in this field. As a blueprint， it will surely promote cooperation further and upgrade it.

Tourism， as an important cooperation area among SCO member states， sets a model for communications and pragmatic cooperation， and shoulders the responsibility of promoting economic development in different countries. According to Xue， the SCO and the Belt and Road Initiative have drawn international attention to the tourist markets of countries along the Old Silk Road， injected new vitality into tourism cooperation， and expanded channels for tourism cooperation. Xue said both China and the other SCO member states share high initiative to launch cooperation in tourism through the organization.

Xue introduced some SCO tourism development plans， “Up next， easier visa measures will be carried out among SCO member states to simplify customs procedures for inbound tourists. It aims to facilitate travelling， expand cooperation platforms， and encourage communication between local governments and companies. In this way， people-to-people exchanges are promoted and the sustainable development of society guaranteed.”

The SCO member states come from two continents. They are rooted in different civilizations， and boast unique cultural relics respectively. Besides， their paths of development and patterns of governance are also different. Xu Tao， director of the SCO research office of the Development Research Center of the State Council， said， “With the guidance of the Shanghai Spirit， peopleto-people exchanges and cooperation have greatly promoted cultural fusion among countries concerned， thus contributing to cultural prosperity of the region. And this has not come easily.” In the eyes of Xu， 17 years of SCO practices have shown that people-to-people exchanges can draw the distance of different countries close， which help to build a strong public opinion base for SCO cooperation.