Conference held in eastern Chinese city Jinhua to promote China-Africa culture and tourism exchanges, cooperation

JINHUA, China, Nov. 15, 2024 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/

The 2024 Conference on China-Africa Cultural and Tourism Cooperation & Exchange was held in Jinhua City in east China’s Zhejiang Province on November 8.

The conference, which sought to promote people-to-people exchanges via cultural Silk Road to promote mutual progress for China and Africa, was jointly organized by the international exchange and cooperation department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the China Tourism Academy, and the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism. It was co-hosted by the Jinhua Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism and the Africa Research Institute of Zhejiang Normal University, with support from the World Tourism Alliance.

More than 240 representatives from various African countries and regions, including ambassadors and diplomats, representatives from the African Union, officials from relevant Chinese government departments and institutions, as well as experts and business representatives from both China and Africa, gathered together to discuss and promote concrete and fruitful cultural and tourism exchanges and cooperation between the two sides.

There is vast potential for cooperation between China and Africa in culture and tourism, according to Xu Peng, vice chairman of the World Tourism Alliance.

The 2024 Conference on China-Africa Cultural and Tourism Cooperation & Exchange was held in Jinhua City.

He said that China looks forward to expanding and deepening cultural and tourism cooperation with countries across Africa to promote diversification of tourism products, improvement of service quality, and standardization of the market, thus providing tourists with a more convenient, comfortable, and safe travel experience.

Li Xinfang, deputy director of the Zhejiang provincial department of culture, radio, television and tourism, said that cultural and tourism exchanges between China and Africa have entered a new phase of mutually proactive development, citing a series of cultural and tourism exchanges between Zhejiang and African countries, such as the African tour of Zhejiang during the Spring Festival, and the Zhejiang youth exchange activities with African counterparts, the Jiangnan aesthetic lifestyle exhibition and the African woodcarving art exhibition.

The conference would help China and Africa engage in in-depth communication, mutual learning, and strengthen cooperation, leading to the cross-border promotion of cultural and tourism resources and the mutual understanding, appreciation, and integration of Chinese and African civilizations, Li added.

The symposium also attracted the participation of tourism department officials from several African countries, including Tanzania, Djibouti, and Seychelles.

Citing that true friends are those who walk the same path, they said that despite the distance between China and Africa, the two sides are closely connected.

The development of the tourism industry serves as an important driver for Africa’s economic growth and regional integration, while China’s experiences and practices in promoting the integration of culture and tourism are worth learning from for Africa, according to them.

It is hoped that this symposium will serve as an opportunity to continue strengthening dialogue and jointly promote the cultural Silk Road initiative between the two sides, contribute to the ten major cooperation programs, and continue to write a new chapter of friendship and understanding between the people of China and Africa, they said.

During the conference, representatives from China and Africa engaged in high-level dialogue on topics such as leveraging tourism and technology to promote cultural heritage, and the exchange between Chinese Jiangnan culture and African Swahili culture.