Grasp the opportunities of the Asian century;practice the spirit of“Asia is One Family”

Hou Mengwei

O n April 28， about 20 young people from China and South Asian countries gathered online for a youth salon to discuss issues concerning peace and development in the region.

The forum was hosted by the Chinese Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Peoples Government of Yunnan province. Lin Songtian， CPAFFC president； Luo Hongjiang， vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the Yunnan Provincial Peoples Congress； Moin ul Haque， Pakistans ambassador to China； and K.K. Yoganaadan， charge daffaires of the Sri Lanka embassy， addressed the meeting.

Under the theme “Pool development efforts and build a vision of peace together”， 15 students， business employees and government workers —all acknowledged as “outstanding” in their realms from China， Bangladesh， India， Nepal， Pakistan and Sri Lanka— shared their views on regional development and people-to-people exchanges， contributing to peace and development in the region.

More than 200 students and teachers from Peking University， Yunnan University， Sichuan University， Shanghai University and Shenzhen University， as well as Cheena-Bhavana， Visva-Bharati University of India， attended the meeting as observers. Zhu Dan， director-general of the cultural exchange department of the CPAFFC， gave concluding remarks.

Addressing the forum， President Lin said that China and South Asian countries share a common mission for development， as they “are geographical neighbors and culturally connected， with similar historical sufferings.” By sharing mutual sympathy and assistance in response to the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 epidemic， both sides have safeguarded peoples health and safety， “demonstrating the virtues of oriental cultures and true love in the human world， while vividly interpreting the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind”.

However， Lin said， certain countries， in a bid to shift their domestic contradictions and crises to other countries and divert their peoples attention and gain benefits from the chaos， have artificially instigated the RussiaUkraine conflict， jeopardizing the stability of global chains of production， supply and capital and causing a series of economic and social problems including a food and energy crisis， inflation and stagflation. It is unfair that their bills are being paid by the people of the world， especially people in underdeveloped countries.03B48D5C-9543-43F3-92C4-751F32EE000E

Lin noted that President Xi Jinping recently delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022 and proposed a global security initiative to tackle the security challenges faced by the world today. Lin said the proposal contributed Chinese wisdom and Chinas solution to the problem.

“I sincerely hope young people in China and South Asia can get a clear understanding of the situation， grasp opportunities of the ‘Asian century， practice the spirit of ‘Asia is One Family and firmly promote fairness and justice，” he said. “I hope they will strive to build a more peaceful， cooperative and unified Asia and world and make contributions to win-win cooperation and common development in the region.”

Haque expressed condolences to the Chinese victims in the recent terrorist attack in Pakistan. He said， “Inter-cultural communication is of paramount importance to fostering a spirit of dialogue， appreciating diversity of thought and ideas and building bridges of cooperation and understanding.”

He spoke highly of the youth salon and encouraged the young people to have a deeper understanding of the true meaning of the Asian spirit， play a constructive role beyond the barriers of doubts and misunderstandings and contribute positively to the peace， progress and prosperity of the entire region.

Speaking of China-Sri Lanka relations， Yoganaadan praised China as a “true friend defying all difficulties”and expressed gratitude to China for the emergency economic aid and ample supply of anti-COVID-19 materials it had provided to Sri Lanka.

The youth participants spoke highly of the friendly cooperation between China and South-Asian countries， saying that they were ready to use their expertise to promote intercultural exchanges and deepen mutual understanding for the continuation of the traditional friendship in the region. They pledged to contribute to the building of a community with a shared future for China and South Asia.

Since its inception in 2008， the China-South Asia International Cultural Forum has enabled a variety of cultural interactions to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples of China and South Asian countries and created a sound platform for people-to-people and cultural exchanges in the region.03B48D5C-9543-43F3-92C4-751F32EE000E