BEIJING, May 12, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said on May 5 that he hopes China and France will light their way forward with the
torch of history, open a brighter future in China-France
relations and make new contributions to world peace, stability and
development. Xi made the remarks in a written speech upon his
arrival at Paris Orly airport for a state visit to
France.
From the "Nice Talk" and "Yuyuan
Garden visit" in 2019 to the "Pine Garden meeting" in 2023,
and now the just-concluded discussion in the Hautes-Pyrenees
Department, the top leaders of China and France have spent many memorable moments
together. Their interactions have become a fine story on everyone's
lips in both countries and the international community, perfectly
exemplifying the meaning of "two-way efforts," which literally
means "meeting each other half way."
In this article, Global Times reporters Xu Liuliu, Chen Xi,
Li Yuche and Wu Jie talked with
artists, experts and scholars from both China and France who shared their stories and
understanding of the two countries' friendship.
Amid falling snow on the picturesque mountains in the
Hautes-Pyrenees Department in southwestern France on May 7,
2024, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan
were warmly received by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte
Macron.
Conducting unique interactions outside the capital cities has
recently become a characteristic arrangement for the exchanges
between Xi and Macron. The heartwarming scene of the two heads
of state and their spouses gathering in the Hautes-Pyrenees
Department inscribed a new chapter in the history of China-France
exchanges, fully demonstrating the warmth, depth, and breadth of
the relationship between the two countries.
During Macron's visit to China
in April 2023, Xi met him in Guangzhou's Pine Garden, South China's Guangdong Province, where they appreciated a
performance of the guqin melody "High Mountain and Flowing
Water."
This time, the meeting in the beautiful mountains of southern
France, with their babbling
brooks, is a continuation of the good memories associated with
"High Mountain and Flowing Water."
During the visit, Xi pointed out that although the Chinese
civilization and French civilization, one in the East and the other
in the West, have different values and social systems, both are
committed to inter-civilization exchanges and mutual learning.
The two sides can coexist in harmony without seeking
uniformity, Xi said, adding that through dialogue and
cooperation, they can both make new contributions to human progress
and world peace and development.
Deepening bilateral cultural exchanges
During the two leaders' discussion at the Elysee Palace on
May 6, the two leaders gifted books
to each other. Macron gave Xi rare volumes by Victor Hugo, and a copy of Linguae Sinarum
Mandarinicae hieroglyphicae grammatica duplex, a Chinese language
grammar book published in 1742 by French scholar and Orientalist
Etienne Fourmont.
President Xi smiled and said, "I have read almost all of
his [Hugo's] books." He noted that his memory of reading Hugo's
novel Les Miserables during his youth remains fresh in his
mind.
Millions of Chinese people have read Les Miserables and
how Monseigneur Bienvenu influenced Jean
Valjean, gaining inspiration from this great literary work.
Chinese actor Liu Ye is one of them.
At the age of 8 or 9, Liu read the graphic novel version
of Les Miserables. He even dreamed of playing the role of
Jean Valjean while in college. Now
he finally realized his dream by acting in the Chinese stage play
version of the work, a China-France co-production by French
producer Anais Martane and Chinese artistic director Wang Keran.
With the linguistic beauty of such literary works, Les
Miserables shows the truth and goodness of human nature.
"This is why we are still rehearing this work today, and why we
stage it to commemorate the great occasion that is the 60th
anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between
China and France," French director Jean Bellorini told the Global Times.
At the welcoming banquet hosted by Macron on the evening on
May 6, Xi underscored the
significance of cross-cultural exchanges in fostering mutual
respect and understanding between China and France.
"The China-France relationship is special in that we
appreciate each other. Representing Eastern and Western
civilizations, China and
France have a fine tradition of
mutual appreciation and mutual attraction," Xi said.
French writer and philosopher Christine Cayol, also French
vice chairman of the China-France Culture Forum, attended the
banquet.
She echoed this opinion, noting that China and France appreciate each other's rich culture
and history.
Having lived in China for
years, Cayol founded the Yishu 8 gallery in Beijing to foster cultural exchanges between
French and Chinese artists.
After being introduced to Xi by Macron, Cayol sent her book
about her life in China to Xi, who
encouraged her to continue to promote cultural exchanges, she told
the Global Times on Thursday.
Xi used the term "two-way efforts" to describe the cultural
exchanges between the two countries. He pointed out that efforts
should continue to be made to organize various activities during
the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism, actively promote
joint protection and restoration of cultural relics and the pairing
of World Heritage Sites, among other cooperation efforts.
The year 2024 marks the
China-France Year of Culture and Tourism, and a variety of cultural
exchange activities are constantly being staged in both
countries.
During Xi's visit to France, the two sides signed a total of 18
agreements to expand cooperation in areas such as manufacturing,
green development, new energy and cultural relics protection and
exhibition exchanges.
Tan Ping, director of Art
Exhibitions China, told the Global Times on Sunday that the company
will collaborate with the Guimet Museum to hold a cultural
relics exhibition featuring China's Tang Dynasty (618-907) in France as part of the signed agreement between
Art Exhibitions China and the Guimet National Museum of Asian Arts
in Paris.
Yannick Lintz, president of the
Guimet National Museum of Asian Arts in Paris, France, told the Global Times that she
had been following the news of President Xi's visit to France. On the occasion of the 60th
anniversary of China-France diplomatic relations, the Guimet Museum
will host cultural activities related to Chinese culture throughout
the year.
Chinese digital artwork An Era in Jinling, which enables
visitors to physically immerse themselves in the dynamic cityscape
of Jinling, the ancient name of Nanjing (currently capital city of East
China's Jiangshu Province), and wander in real time through the
historical city from China's Song
Dynasty (960-1279), will be exhibited in Paris from May
16 to 18.
Ai Lin, the director of the Deji
Art Museum in Nanjing, told the
Global Times that building upon feedback from US audiences during
an exhibition of the work in Boston in November
2023, the team has upgraded the work to better suit French
audiences.
Promoting mutual cultural communication has become a
consensus between China and
France. It has also shed light on
the artistic sector, in which both classic and contemporary
artists in France have
established ties with China.
French artist Anne-Marie Laffont, who is in her 80s, told
the Global Times that she took her first teaching job in
China in 2018 and was immediately
charmed by traditional Chinese dance.
Laffont has noticed many aesthetic similarities between French
ballet and traditional Chinese dance.
"China and France are both civilizations of profound
indigenous cultures. Because we are different civilizations, it is
very interesting to have mutual learning," Laffont
emphasized.
Progressing from exchanges of classic works, French creative
artistic workers like Gwenael Allan are promoting cutting-edge
digital art exchanges between China and France.
In May, he brought his new immersive digital art exhibition to
Beijing. Through projecting real
footage of nature on screen while wet and fresh scents designed by
Allan's team float through the air, the show calls for audiences to
value the conservation of nature.
He told the Global Times that he will continue launching
high-tech art shows in China
because the historical exchanges between the two countries are
meant to be continued in the modern era.
Holding the Olympic torches together
In the brightly lit Portrait Room at the Elysee Palace,
three Olympic torches were particularly eye-catching as they stood
side by side on an off-white marble table.
This was some of the gifts exchanged between the two heads of
state before their meeting. Xi presented Macron with the
Olympic torches of the Beijing
2008 Olympics and the Beijing 2022
Winter Olympics, while Macron gifted Xi an Olympic torch for the
upcoming Paris Olympic Games.
France is a sports power and
China will send a high-level
delegation to France to
participate in the Paris Games, Xi said with a smile, wishing
the Paris Olympic Games every success.
In just over two months, the beautiful banks of the Seine will
welcome the grand Paris Olympic Games. The Olympic Games are a
symbol of cultural exchanges, unity and friendship. From
Beijing to Paris, from the world's first "dual Olympics
city" to the centennial return of the Olympics, the Olympic spirit
resonates across time and space. Previously Paris hosted the Olympic Games in 1900 and
1924. Holding the Olympic torches together, China and France add luster to their exchanges through
sports.
After the establishment of diplomatic relations between
China and France, the two countries' sports sectors have
maintained close contacts. Both sides have sent coaches
specializing in their respective advantageous disciplines to each
other's countries to train athletes.
Coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the China-France
diplomatic relations and the Paris Olympics, 2024 is an important
year in China-France relations. For this reason, the two
countries hope to make sports, especially youth athlete exchanges,
the development of sports infrastructure, and sharing of sports
industry experience, an integral part of bilateral relations,
creating a new height in China-France
cultural exchanges.
Lu Shaye, Chinese Ambassador to
France, said that Paris hosting the Summer Olympics again after
a span of 100 years provides more possibilities and greater
opportunities for China and
France to strengthen sports
cooperation. It is hoped that China-France
sports exchanges and cooperation will deepen and solidify the
Games, driving greater development in bilateral relations,
according to China News Service.
Sports serve as a bridge, as China and France jointly pursue the sporting goals of
"faster, higher, stronger," and also embody the Olympic values of
"greater unity."
During his visit to France, Xi once again expressed
China's support for France hosting a successful Paris Olympic
Games.
Xi also pointed out that as a permanent member of the UN
Security Council and a responsible major country, China is ready to launch an initiative with
France calling for a worldwide
truce during the Games.
Zhang Zheng, an associate
professor at the School of Journalism and Communication of Tsinghua
University, told the Global Times that the joint efforts made by
China and France will serve as a model for global
cultural and sports collaboration, paving the way for humanity's
pursuit of higher levels of physical and spiritual development
after economic progress.
China is proving with practical
action that the Chinese people love, embrace and promote peace. As
the only city in the world to have hosted both the Summer and
Winter Olympics, Beijing also
demonstrates the Chinese people's passion for sportsmanship and
support for the Olympic spirit, Zhang said.
With the Paris Games
approaching, France, as a global
cultural center with a splendid civilization, has been cooperating
with China in the fields of
culture and sports, which will deepen mutual learning and
communication among different civilizations, promote mutual
understanding, and strengthen bonds among people, Zhang
noted.
On the evening of May 6, before
the banquet of the two leaders, a rainbow appeared over
the Elysee Palace, connecting the East and the West. Along the
banks of the Seine, a new story of "two-way efforts" between
China and France was also written into the history
books.
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SOURCE Global Times