AlightingandfireworksshowsetoverwaterabovetheFushanBayat9pmonJune9inQingdaokickedofftheSCOQingdaoSummit.TheshowconsistedofseveralpartssuchasAMoonlitNight,TheCharmofShandong,NationofPeaceandProsperity,TowardsaBetterFuture,andtheCommunityofaSharedFuture.TheperformancesduringtheshowdisplayedtheprofundityandexpanseoftheChineseculture,aswellasthe“ShanghaiSpirit”thathasbeenvaluedbySCOmembers.ReportersfrombothhomeandabroadwalkabouttheQingdaoArtMuseumandtheformerresidenceofLaoShetolearnaboutlocalcultureandhistoryonJune10,2018,inQingdao,ShandongProvince.YuJieCulturalExchangesBoostMutualUnderstanding
“IwouldliketocoverstoriesofhowtheChineseenterprisestakesocialresponsibilityinimprovingeducationandreducingpoverty,”KhanAbdulWajid,areporterwithIndependentNewsPakistan(INP)toldChinaTodayattheSCOQingdaoSummit.ThisishisfirstvisittoChina.Afterthesummit,heandhiscolleagueswillhaveexchangeswiththeirChinesecounterpartsinthefollowingfourmonths.HeadmittedthatheisenthusiasticallylookingforwardtotheirventuresinChina.
Infact,thereareongoingpeople-to-peopleexchangessuchastheonethatKhanhasparticipatedinbetweenChinaandotherSCOcountries.OnJune10,ChinesePresidentXiJinpingagaincalledonmemberstatesoftheSCOtoforgeclosertiesthroughpeople-topeopleandculturalexchanges.Hesaidinthenextthreeyears,Chinawillprovide3,000trainingopportunitiesonhumanresourcesdevelopmenttoSCOmemberstatestoenhancepublicunderstandingandsupportfortheSCOfamily.
Overthepast17yearssinceitwasfounded,theSCOhasbuiltabridgeoffriendshipandmadeitselfaparadigminpromotingmutualunderstandingamongnations.OverthepastyearsinceChinatookovertherotatingpresidencyoftheSCO,morethan200activitiesincludingaseriesofimportantinstitutionalmeetingsandbilateralormultilateraleventshavebeenheld,comprehensivelyboostingpeople-to-peopleandculturalexchangesandconsolidatingthepublicopinionfoundationforthedevelopmentofSCOintermsofpolitics,economy,andtrade,aswellassecurity.InMayof2018alone,thefirstmeetingoftourismministersfromSCOnations,the15thmeetingofculturalministersoftheSCOmemberstates,thefirstSCOwomen’sforum,andthefirstSCOmediumsummitwereheld.AseriesofactivitieshavehelpedpromotemutualunderstandingandfriendshipamongthepeoplesofSCOmemberstates.Cooperationandpeople-to-peopleexchangesinfieldsofeducation,culture,healthcare,sports,tourism,andcommunicationarecarriedoutwithgreatmomentum.
Asaniconicmediaplatformofpopularculture,filmservesasaculturalbridgethatentertainspeopleaswellasinfluencestheminthemostprofoundways.TheSCOFilmFestival,thefirstofitskind,washeldinQingdaoonJune13.AccordingtoanofficialwiththePublicityDepartmentoftheCommunistPartyofChinaQingdaoCommittee,thefestivalinviteddelegations,artists,andrepresentativesofenterprisesfromtheeightmemberstatesandfourobserverstates.Atotalof60movieswerescreenedtotheaudiencepresentingthemwithenthrallingpanoramaofthemanycharmsofdifferentSCOmembercountries.
NotonlydoesChinaperiodicallyholdculturalfestivalsandactivitieswithotherSCOmember,observer,anddialoguepartnercountries,butdootherSCOnationsorganizeactivitiescooperatingwitheachother,includingartisticperformances,themedexhibitions,culturalforums,artsymposiums,andfilmfestivals.Thosecooperativeactivitiesareeffectiveinpromotingmutualunderstandingamongsteachother.AnoldChinesesayingthataptlyillustratesthisgoesthatonlyheart-toheartexchangescanformlastingfriendships.
TourismCooperationamongSCOMembers
People-to-peopleexchangesandcooperationcannotonlystrengthenmutualtrustandforgeclosebondsbetweenpeoples,butalsopromoteeconomicdevelopment.Sodoescooperationintourism.OnJune8,ontheeveoftheSCOQingdaoSummit,XueYaping,directorofthedepartmentoftourismpromotionandinternationalcooperationoftheMinistryofCultureandTourismofChina,said,asSCOmemberstatesareneighborslinkedbyriversandmountains,theircoop-erationintourismcangreatlyboosttheirrespectiveeconomicdevelopmentinparticularafterIndiaandPakistanweretakeninbytheorganization.AccordingtoXue,in2017alone,peoplefromtheotherSCOstatesmade3.617millionvisitstoChina,ayear-on-yearincreaseof11.75percent.Skilledartisansdisplaytheirimpressivepaper-cuttingskills,featuringChenXiumei’spiece“WelcometoQingdao”asagifttotheSCOQingdaoSummit.CNSBrightprospectspromotetheimplementationoftourismcooperationpolicies.The“2019-2020JointActionPlanforImplementingtheSCOTourismCooperationProgramme”isoneoftheseveraldocumentssignedattheQingdaoSummit.ThePlancoversfiveareas:cooperationamongtourismdepartmentsoftheeightmemberstates,cooperationontheirtourismproducts,tourismservices,theprotectionofthelawfulrightsandinterestsoftourists,travelsafetyassurance,andscientificresearch.TheplanfitsinwiththeregionalcooperationdemandsandsituationsontourismwithintheSCOframeworkinrecentyears,andembodiesnewprogressandtrendsinthisfield.Asablueprint,itwillsurelypromotecooperationfurtherandupgradeit.
Tourism,asanimportantcooperationareaamongSCOmemberstates,setsamodelforcommunicationsandpragmaticcooperation,andshoulderstheresponsibilityofpromotingeconomicdevelopmentindifferentcountries.AccordingtoXue,theSCOandtheBeltandRoadInitiativehavedrawninternationalattentiontothetouristmarketsofcountriesalongtheOldSilkRoad,injectednewvitalityintotourismcooperation,andexpandedchannelsfortourismcooperation.XuesaidbothChinaandtheotherSCOmemberstatessharehighinitiativetolaunchcooperationintourismthroughtheorganization.
XueintroducedsomeSCOtourismdevelopmentplans,“Upnext,easiervisameasureswillbecarriedoutamongSCOmemberstatestosimplifycustomsproceduresforinboundtourists.Itaimstofacilitatetravelling,expandcooperationplatforms,andencouragecommunicationbetweenlocalgovernmentsandcompanies.Inthisway,people-to-peopleexchangesarepromotedandthesustainabledevelopmentofsocietyguaranteed.”
TheSCOmemberstatescomefromtwocontinents.Theyarerootedindifferentcivilizations,andboastuniqueculturalrelicsrespectively.Besides,theirpathsofdevelopmentandpatternsofgovernancearealsodifferent.XuTao,directoroftheSCOresearchofficeoftheDevelopmentResearchCenteroftheStateCouncil,said,“WiththeguidanceoftheShanghaiSpirit,peopleto-peopleexchangesandcooperationhavegreatlypromotedculturalfusionamongcountriesconcerned,thuscontributingtoculturalprosperityoftheregion.Andthishasnotcomeeasily.”IntheeyesofXu,17yearsofSCOpracticeshaveshownthatpeople-to-peopleexchangescandrawthedistanceofdifferentcountriesclose,whichhelptobuildastrongpublicopinionbaseforSCOcooperation.C