On Tuesday, when Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Astana for the 24th Session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's Council of Heads of State and a state visit to Kazakhstan, China Media Group (CMG) hosted a cultural exchange titled "A New Chapter of History Connecting Mountains and Rivers."
The event was attended by nearly 100 distinguished guests from various regions in Kazakhstan, who witnessed the announcement of several cooperation projects and the documentary film "Common Dreams", a co-production between China and Kazakhstan.
CMG President Shen Haixiong delivered a speech in which he said that CMG has always been committed to the development of cultural and people-to-people exchanges between China and Kazakhstan. CMG has reported many times on the story of Chinese musician Xiang Xinghai and Kazakh musician Bakhytzhan Baikadamov, who met each other in Almaty and established a deep friendship. He believed that the launch of the Sino-Kazakh co-production documentary "Common Dreams" and other cooperation projects would further strengthen mutual understanding and exchanges between the two nations and jointly promote the building of a community with a common future for mankind.
Kazakh Minister of Culture and Information Aida Balaeva said in her speech that the peoples of Kazakhstan and China have a thousand-year history of friendly exchanges; the two countries are closely linked by the ancient Silk Road. In recent years, cooperation between Kazakh media and China Media Group has played a positive role in people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. She said the Ministry of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan will continue to maintain close cooperation with CMG in disseminating the history, culture, customs and folkways of the two countries.
In her speech, the Director of the Kazakh Presidential Television and Radio Complex, Raushan Zhanabergenovna, said that a number of high-quality CMG programmes had been broadcast in Kazakhstan, which had strongly promoted dialogue between the two civilisations. Kazhibayeva said the two sides will jointly produce more programs and documentaries to showcase cultural treasures and represent the achievements of economic and social development of China and Kazakhstan.
Deputy Minister of Tourism and Sports of Kazakhstan Yerzhan Malikovich made a speech, saying that travel between the two countries has become more comfortable after the visa-free policy came into force. He noted that cooperation in the field of tourism has great potential and broad prospects and that the co-production of the documentary film "Common Dreams" is a good start for further cooperation.
"Together with CMG, we can strengthen our cooperation in content production and event organisation to attract more Chinese tourists to Kazakhstan and experience its beautiful nature and colourful culture," Malikovic said.
Acting Director General of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) Temirlan Mukhanbetzhanov noted in his speech that cultural and people-to-people exchanges serve as a solid foundation for financial cooperation between the two countries.
"AIFC is an important venue in the Eurasian region and a financial platform for the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative. We look forward to working with the CMG to implement exchanges in multiple areas and to support the quality development of the Belt and Road, which will contribute to the economic and cultural prosperity of both countries," said Mukhanbetzanov.
Chinese Ambassador to Kazakhstan Zhang Xiao said in his video message that China and Kazakhstan are geographically close and have a long history of cultural exchanges. Cultural and people-to-people exchanges are an important part and driving force of China-Kazakhstan relations.
He noted that the event is of great significance as it takes place during the state visit of President Xi Jinping. It can sum up the achievements so far and open a new stage of cultural cooperation and exchanges.
The documentary "Shared Dreams" was also shown at the event. It shows the cooperation and joint construction between China and Kazakhstan in the fields of humanities, arts, ecology, economy and trade. It was co-produced by CMG and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Kazakhstan and is the first and largest joint production. The documentary, which consists of three 26-minute episodes, will be broadcast from July 2 to 5 on Kazakh state television and on CMG's international channel (CCTV-4).
Several agreements on future cooperation were signed at the event. CMG Research Institute and Eurasian National University in Kazakhstan reached an agreement on further deepening their cooperation and exchanged a memorandum. Both sides will promote innovation in media technology and strengthen the exchange of academics and think tanks. Eurasian National University was founded in 1996 and is the largest comprehensive university in Kazakhstan.
CMG has also signed memoranda of cooperation with the Astana International Financial Centre and the Kazakhstan State Tourism Corporation to strengthen the exchange of information in the field of economy and tourism.
Baikadam's daughter Baikadam was also invited to the event and she conducted a video interview with Sian Sin-chai's daughter Sian Nina. They talked about the touching stories between the two families, showing that the friendship between the two countries is passed on to the next generation. Afterwards, the Kazakh artists performed excerpts from the symphonic poem "Xian Xinghai" and the Chinese classical song "In the Field of Hope".
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