The 5th Sino-French Cultural Forum opened in Suzhou on Tuesday. The event is co-hosted by the Western Returned Scholars Association, and La Fondation Prospective & Innovation. Among the top leaders present at the opening ceremony were Ding Zhongli, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and President of the Western Returned Scholars Association, Chen Zhu, President of the Red Cross Society of China, Liu Xiaotao, Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Suzhou Municipal Party Committee, Xu Ying, Vice Governor of Jiangsu, Zhou Lan, Vice Chairman of the Provincial Political Consultative Conference, Wang Chunfa, Director of the National Museum of China and Vice President of the Western Returned Scholars Association, and Wu Weishan, Director of the National Art Museum of China.
Ding Zhongli pointed out in his speech that both China and France have a long history and splendid culture. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France in 1964, the two sides have enhanced mutual understanding through cultural exchanges, laying a solid foundation for the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and France.
He hoped that the people of the two countries could deepen their cultural exchanges through this forum, further consolidate the public opinion foundation of friendship between the Chinese and French peoples for generations, and jointly make new contributions to world peace and human progress.
Xu Ying said in her speech that Jiangsu, as one of the important birthplaces of Chinese civilization, is an important window to showcase Chinese civilization and the charm of the East. Jiangsu is willing to take this forum as an opportunity to promote cultural exchange and actively build dialogue platforms in the fields of art, cultural relics, tourism, and cultural industries and enhance unity, mutual trust, and people-to-people communication so that different civilizations can share their beauty and beauty.
Under the theme of "A New Era of Sino-French Friendship and a New Starting Point for Cultural Exchange", this forum aims to implement the consensus of the heads of state of China and France, enhance the understanding of cultural exchange and mutual learning between the two countries, build a non-government platform for cultural and artistic exchanges and dialogue between the two countries, and jointly explore new opportunities, new tracks, new paths, and new models for cultural exchange and cooperation between China and France under the new situation.
