| We, the ministers and ministers’ representatives in charge of cultural affairs of the People’s Republic of China and 45 African countries, met in Beijing, China from 18 to 19 June 2012 for the FOCAC Cultural Ministers’ Forum.
Acting in the spirit of “friendship, cooperation, exchange and mutual learning”, we have reviewed the path and experience of cultural exchange and cooperation between China and Africa over the past half century, conducted full assessment on the implementation of relevant measures as stipulated in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Sharm El Sheikh Action Plan (2010-2012) for cultural and people-to-people exchanges and cooperation, and reached extensive consensus through in-depth discussions on how to deepen cultural exchange and cooperation between China and Africa.
We hold that:
China and Africa, as birthplaces of human civilizations, boast rich and splendid cultures. Dialogue between the two civilizations is instrumental in promoting mutual learning between the Chinese and African cultures, safeguarding world cultural diversity, gaining a stronger say for developing countries in the international cultural arena and boosting the prosperity of world cultures.
Cultural relations between China and Africa constitute an important component in the new type of China-Africa strategic partnership. We are pleased to note that thanks to the joint efforts from the two sides and the guidance of China-Africa Cooperation Forum, recent years have witnessed robust progress and fruitful development in China-Africa cultural exchange and cooperation as well as full implementation of relevant measures stipulated in the FOCAC Sharm El Sheikh Action Plan in the field of cultural and people-to-people exchanges and cooperation. These achievements have injected inspirations and cultural endorsement to China-Africa cooperation and made positive contribution to the comprehensive, balanced and sustainable development of the new type of China-Africa strategic partnership.
We hold that the FOCAC Cultural Ministers’ Forum serves as both an important action to honor the FOCAC Sharm El Sheikh Action Plan and an attempt at innovation in conducting multilateral cultural cooperation within the framework of China-Africa Cooperation Forum. As a valuable platform for dialogue and cooperation, it is an event of great significance in the annals of cultural exchange and cooperation between China and Africa. We stand ready to further consolidate this Forum in the future and take the 5th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation as an opportunity to initiate measures of cooperation that are highly relevant to the world today and the needs of our two sides so as to make the Forum a powerhouse for China-Africa cultural relations.
In today’s world where major developments, major changes and major adjustments are taking place, the role of culture has become more urgent, prominent and profound, both in cultural diplomacy, cultural economy and easy understanding through cultural exchanges and cooperation. As China is the largest developing country in the world and Africa is home to the largest number of developing countries, we hereby reiterate that China and Africa shall work together, from a strategic and long term perspective, to strengthen cultural exchange and cooperation guided by the principle of mutual respect, exchange on equal terms and mutually beneficial cooperation so as to elevate the new type of China-Africa strategic partnership to a new height.
We therefore decide to:
--maintain the exchanges of visits and consultations by high-ranking government officials in charge of cultural affairs from China and Africa, strengthen strategic dialogue, expand grounds of consensus and support each other in international cultural affairs in order to safeguard the rights and interests of developing countries for cultural development.
--promote the in-depth exchange and cooperation between the Chinese and African cultural institutions and encourage the establishment of long-term partner-on-partner cooperative relations between the two sides.
--further expand the influence of “Chinese and African Cultures in Focus” to improve the interactive mechanism, enrich its contents and upgrade the level of cooperation.
--enhance the human resources development and cooperation for cultural and artistic practitioners and promote the exchange of experience between the cultural management staff and professionals of the two sides.
--conduct in an active manner exchange and cooperation between cultural industries of China and Africa, and work for the translation of rich cultural resources into economic resources for the wellbeing of the people.
--further cement exchange and cooperation in the protection of cultural heritage, safeguard the unique cultural characteristics of our two sides and promote the diverse development of world cultures.
We are satisfied with the outcomes of the FOCAC Cultural Ministers’ Forum and we wish to express congratulations on the complete success of the Forum.
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