Q1. Chinese President Xi Jinping has proposed 10 partnership actions during this year’s FOCAC Summit, people-to-people exchanges is among the actions. How do you see the significance of the actions and the role of people-to-people exchanges in China-Africa cooperation?

Dr. TALING:

People-to-people exchanges are dialogues between minds, communications of sentiments and ties of friendship between peoples. Exchanges between different nations help to enhance mutual understanding and promote win-win cooperation.

People create cultures, and cultures define peoples

In other words, people-to-people exchanges also means cultural exchanges

Africa is known to be the origin of Mankind, and together with China both are cradles of human civilizations with long histories and splendid cultures. Cultural exchanges between China and Africa can be traced back to a distant past.

 Since 1957, the newly independent African countries have got diplomatic relationship with the new China, creating new opportunities for the people of China and Africa to shape their destiny in the best of their common interests.

And here we are today, sharing a common destiny as SOUTH-SOUTH PARTNERS, as the leading economies of the GLOBAL SOUTH, in term of MARKETS, in term of TECHNOLOGY, in term of HUMAN CAPITAL, in term of NATURAL RESOURCES etc.

With a deep mutual understanding and trust between China and Africa, we can re-balance the actual world order for the best of our common interest. And I beleive that, THE PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE EXCHANGES WILL HELP US ACHIEVE THAT MAJOR GOAL.

This is how I see the significance of the actions and the role of people-to-people exchanges in the China-Africa cooperation

Q2. You have been working for China-Africa cultural exchanges for years. Based on your experience, how do you evaluate the future development of the people-to-people exchanges between the two sides?  

The future development of the people-to-people exchanges between China and Africa is BRIGHT. Of course,  Some important steps have been done so far, but we still have a long way to go. As a scholar, I am proud of all the pledges and promises done by president Xi JINPING during this FOCAC summit 2024. The most appealing for me is the pledge to  

 launch with Africa a Cultural Silk Road program as well as an initiative of cooperation on innovation in radio, TV and audio-visual programs. ….. and to designate 2026 as the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges.

Of course we will need to work hard to get there,

 in my field of expertise for example, I have come up with the concept of “Sino-African Kungfu Movies”, the idea is to make a new narrative of China and Africa, taking into account Somme of the most influential elements of the Chinese culture , that is the CHINESE KUNGFU. Combining these with some AFRICAN TRADITIONAL STYLES OF MARTIAL ARTS AND COMBAT TRADITIONS, we can come up with some new cultural products on the global markets, that is the “Sino-African Kungfu Movies”.

Dr. TALING: I have been working on that direction so far,  and my first movie gonna be avaible soon, entitled, “KUNG-FU DREAM” a documentary film to be watched on the BIG SCREEN.

My hope is that the SILK ROAD PROGRAM can support such small initiative at the people’s level, so that we could be able to achieve some INDIVIDUAL DREAMS to better support our NATION’s DREAMs. Thank you.  

NOTE: Dr. TALING is Vice-Director of the Center for Francophones Studies at Zhejiang Normal University, China.