Belt and Road Initiative yields fruitful results in cultural arena

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed. In the past five years, notable outcomes have been achieved in cultural communication, educational cooperation, and tourism exchange, said Ning Jizhe, head of the National Bureau of Statistics at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office of China in Beijing on Monday.

According to Ning, China and the Belt and Road countries have made progress in cooperation in such areas as culture, education, and technology. A number of detailed project plans have been drawn up in various directions including education, technology, finance, energy sources, agriculture as well as inspection and quarantine.

The Belt and Road Film Night ceremony is held in the Walt Disney Grand Theater in Pudong District of Shanghai, China, June 20, 2018. [Photo/CRI Online]

China has maintained close cultural communication with the countries along the Belt and Road in the spirit of openness and inclusiveness. For instance, this year's Shanghai International Film Festival saw the Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance in Shanghai with a memorandum of cooperation issued by 31 film festival organizations from 29 countries that participate in the BRI.

The published alliance manifesto claims that the organization plans to enhance information and film sharing, as well as exchanging filmmakers and industry experts, and to start more joint projects with the coalition.

In addition, the first Belt and Road Week was held during the festival, with 154 films from 49 countries along the Belt and Road presented.

Aside from the cooperation on the film industry, the Library Alliance along the Silk Road formed in May also serves as a significant basement for cultural communication.

Initiated by the National Library of China (NLC), the alliance has the first batch of 24 members from countries and regions such as Bangladesh, Belarus, Malaysia, Mongolia, Thailand, and Vietnam to cooperate on document sharing, classics protection, and digitalization.