In 2000 - the International Year for the Culture of Peace declared by the United Nations, the Symposium on China-Africa Cultural Exchanges in the New Century was held in Beijing. At the meeting, while reviewing past experiences and discussing the blueprint for cultural exchanges in the new century, representatives from the Organization of African Unity (predecessor of the African Union), 22 African countries and China were unanimous that both China and Africa were facing similar cultural problems. How China and Africa can maintain and consolidate their own cultures is an important issue for both.

Though geographically distant, China and African countries can have close heart-to-heart connection as they have similar pasts and the same historical missions. Cultural exchanges between the two sides, initiated and guided by the government in the 1950s and 1960s, have made a lot of achievements. The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation's First Cultural Ministers' Forum in 2012 suggested China and African countries carry forward their excellent traditional cultures to maintain "cultural security." The ministers urged for cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and Africa in order to transform both sides' abundant cultural resources into economic resources that would benefit their people's lives.

There is huge scope for cultural trade between China and Africa, in addition to their traditional trades in commodities and services. Africa today, different from what it was in 2000, is undergoing fast economic growth. The expanding middle class in African countries provides a huge market for the cultural industry.  

In addition to disseminating its culture overseas by providing more cultural products and services, China relies more on the consciousness of spreading Chinese culture of the large number of Chinese staying and traveling abroad. African countries also do likewise. To better promote Sino-African relations and properly address the problems during the growth of bilateral ties, the cultural exchange activities organized by the Chinese Government in Africa should pay more attention to promoting harmonious relations between the Chinese in Africa and local people. This is the hardest nut to crack in Sino-African relations in the new era. It is also the most pressing task at the moment because it demonstrates the tenet of "benefiting people's lives through culture."

At the same time, the Chinese who are already in Africa and are thinking of going there for opportunities should have the awareness to spread Chinese culture. They should study, understand and respect the cultures of African countries, and in their daily lives project an image of Chinese as amiable, optimistic and peaceful before the Africans around them.

Compared with the barriers deep in the minds of the Chinese and Africans during their interactions, languange and cultural differences are no longer the greatest bottlenecks in Sino-African cultural exchanges. Both China and African countries are developing economies. That many Chinese people go to Africa for business or engineering projects poses a pressure on African people, vis-a-vis work. It also affects the latter's income.

Culture is the mildest way to solve the problems and has been given great importance. Both the government and enterprises in China have realized that culture should be given top priority for sustainable cooperation with Africa. However, the government's work to promote Sino-African cultural exchanges is more or less separate from that of non-governmental channels. The government, enterprises and non-governmental social sectors should join hands to establish a multi-layered organic interaction.

The Chinese Government needs to strengthen its efforts to deepen public diplomacy targeting Africans by subtly clearing up their doubts and promoting exchanges and communication. Also, people-to-people contacts and cooperation among enterprises should be strengthened so as to launch cultural exchanges through non-governmental channels. Only by doing this can Chinese and African people understand and learn from one another's cultures and can Sino-African cultural exchanges benefit people's lives.

(The author is an associate professor with Peking University's School of International Studies)