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Diplomatic approaches to peacebuilding increasingly needed: Xiangshan Forum attendees

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      China

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      Diplomatic approaches to peacebuilding increasingly needed: Xiangshan Forum attendees

      2024-09-13 19:05 Last Updated At:19:47

      More diplomatic and development-based approaches to peace-building are needed to tackle mounting international conflicts, global representatives and security experts agreed during discussions at the 11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum, taking place in Beijing from Thursday to Saturday.

      Under the theme of "Promoting Peace for a Shared Future," this year's forum features critical discussions on global security, regional stability, and innovative technologies in defense. It has attracted the widest attendance in its history, with participants from 100 countries and organizations.

      At the "Young Military Officers' and Scholars' Seminar", part of the forum, hot-spot issues such as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Ukraine crisis received widespread attention.

      Participants stressed that these conflicts have complex historical causes and cannot be resolved in a short time, but the international community, such as the UN, should reach a consensus and jointly resolve differences and challenges through diplomatic means such as dialogue and consultation and international organizations.

      "Nowadays there also seems to be an increasingly dangerous trend in which some countries think that the military solutions could be a shortcut to a very complicated conflict. However, military cannot solve all those very complicated issues. It can make all those issues even more complicated. Therefore, we still need to re-prioritize the role of diplomacy in all those conflict solutions," said Zhou Yiqi, associate research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy and Innovation Studies of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies.

      "The UN has another use of being an arena, I think, in which we could see a positive competition between great powers, a competition for delivering peace as a public good like development, for example, already is, and in which it would be useful to have different approaches to peace building. I think this would also be a productive way in which to channel the current tensions that we're seeing between great powers," said Pascal Alexander Abb, senior researcher at the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt.

      Many participants spoke highly of China's important role in maintaining global security and de-escalating regional tensions.

      "China is doing very well. China is trying to promote peace, China is trying to promote the economic cooperation, the whole world. China has been able to actually bring Hamas and Fatah together. China has been able to bring Iran and KSA, that is Saudi Arabia together. China is also working on promoting peace between Ukraine and Russia, so I am very positive that China is playing a very, very good role, positive role in the word peace," said Raza Muhammad, a Pakistani representative.

      "I think China is absolutely right in saying we need more dialogue, we need more engagement, we need more respect, more trust, and we need just to come to the table with equality and so without prejudice and without thinking about one country being superior to others," said Francesca Giovannini, an Italian representative.

      Others said that in the face of continuous international conflicts, a new security path featuring dialogue rather than confrontation, partnership rather than alliance, and win-win rather than zero-sum should be the solution to international conflicts pursued by all countries.

      Diplomatic approaches to peacebuilding increasingly needed: Xiangshan Forum attendees

      Diplomatic approaches to peacebuilding increasingly needed: Xiangshan Forum attendees

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      Promotional video for CMG Spring Festival Gala screened in various countries

      2025-01-22 16:50 Last Updated At:17:07

      A global wave of festive celebrations is unfolding as the Chinese Lunar New Year approaches, with the 2025 Spring Festival Gala promotional video by China Media Group (CMG) serving as a cultural bridge, connecting people from diverse backgrounds to the richness of Chinese traditions.

      The Spring Festival falls on Jan 29 this year, ushering in the Year of the Snake, according to the Chinese lunar calendar.

      At the new compound of the Mission of China to the AU in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, a gala was held on Monday to celebrate the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival.

      Featured Chinese foods and traditional performances from both China and Africa, among others, the event has brought together over 300 participants including the representatives of the AU and the Chinese community in Addis Ababa.

      Monique Nsanzabaganwa, deputy chairperson for the African Union Commission, said AU-China cooperation has achieved gratifying and fruitful results during the previous years, noting China's 35-year-long tradition of dispatching its foreign minister to Africa on their first overseas trips at the start of a year.

      The AU is willing to work with China to make greater contribution to the development and prosperity of the Global South, she said.

      "I wish Africa-China relations will achieve greater progress in 2025 and building an all weather Africa-China community with a shared future for the new era will yield fruitful results," Nsanzabaganwa said.

      The promotional video for the 2025 Spring Festival Gala was also aired at the event, marking a step forward in cultural exchange while igniting interest in Chinese traditions among attendees.

      Meanwhile, cinemas in landmark locations across Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban in South Africa conducted a synchronized screening of the promotional video for the Spring Festival Gala, marking a first for the collaborative initiative.

      A South Korean expatriate residing in South Africa expressed that seeing the promotional video of the gala, which represents elements of the Chinese Lunar New Year, in South African cinemas evoked a warm sense of longing for family reunions within her.

      "As a foreigner, I was very impressed by the Chinese Spring Festival Gala last year, I was so happy to see the beautiful performances in South Africa's shopping mall at Nu Metro (Cinema). I'm very looking forward to see the live performance with my husband and baby at this Chinese New Year," she said.

      In addition, the Chinese Embassy in Zambia on Sunday held the 2025 Zambia-Chinese Spring Festival Temple Fair with a display of Chinese culture in celebration of the upcoming Spring Festival.

      Featuring various Chinese cultures, including a kung fu performance, the celebration attracted scores of both Chinese people and local people, officials from the Chinese embassy and the Zambian government, and representatives of Chinese enterprises operating in Zambia.

      Chinese food was also on display, while Chinese companies took advantage of the ceremony to showcase their products and services.

      During the event, the promotional video for the gala made a stunning appearance, becoming the focal point of the gathering.

      In December last year, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization inscribed "Spring Festival, social practices of the Chinese people in celebration of the traditional new year" on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

      Promotional video for CMG Spring Festival Gala screened in various countries

      Promotional video for CMG Spring Festival Gala screened in various countries

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