By He Yin, People’s Daily
This year marks the 60th anniversary of China dispatching its first medical aid team abroad. Over the past six decades, a total of 30,000 medical personnel have treated 290 million local patients in 76 countries and regions.
Chinese medical aid teams, benefiting local communities with their medical proficiency and ethics, have become an authentic representation of China’s sincerity in developing relations with other developing countries.
Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out in a speech he delivered 10 years ago at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Center in Tanzania that sincerity is a defining feature of China-Africa relations.
The peoples of China and other developing countries are destined to be good friends as they have shared past experiences and similar aims and goals.
Treating developing countries with sincerity, courtesy and friendship has always been a feature and tradition of China’s diplomacy in the new era. China is committed to enhancing mutual understanding between the Chinese people and the people of other countries, and always works to build a solid social foundation for bilateral friendship, so as to nurture a better environment for mutually beneficial cooperation.
Strengthening exchanges and dialogue leads to a closer people-to-people bond.
China has built the Belt and Road into a road connecting different civilizations, and hosted the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations and the Communist Party of China in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-level Meeting.
It has also actively promoted cultural cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS and other multilateral mechanisms, and has expanded cooperation with African countries, Latin American countries and Arab states on culture, education, science and technology and health, as well as growing exchanges between their media, think tank, youth and women.
China is actively building mutual learning platforms for civilization dialogues, inter-party exchanges and civil diplomacy, so that countries can draw wisdom from each other’s civilizations, enhance cultural understanding and people-to-people bonds, and build a broader consensus for building a community with a shared future for mankind.
It is generally believed by the international community that China has made important contributions to enhancing mutual understanding, solidarity and mutual trust among different civilizations by establishing cultural dialogue platforms.
Deepening pragmatic cooperation brings people closer. China always works to provide tangible benefits to developing countries with sincerity.
In Mozambique, farmers growing Chinese hybrid rice have enjoyed good harvests, and the rice produced has been “Good Taste” by the locals.
In Vanuatu, the China-assisted Malapoa College is like a lighthouse that illuminates the path to knowledge for young generations.
In Mexico, Chinese enterprises, showing respect for local culture, have actively funded public welfare projects including orphanages and nursing homes. The Chinese employees are like families to local people.
In Laos, the China-Laos Railway is like a “golden channel” that has completely changed the life of local people. It is nicknamed the “road to happiness” by Lao media.
These stories make a symphony of China and other developing countries working together through thick and thin and building a closer people-to-people bond.
As a famous Chinese line goes, “Friendship, which derives from close contact between the peoples, holds the key to sound state-to-state relations.” China actively promotes youth exchanges with other developing countries and builds broad platforms of talent training and mutual learning for young generations.
It has provided scholarships funded by the Chinese government for foreign students and strengthened international cooperation in vocational education. It has also held young leaders forums and youth exchange camps, sent young volunteers to other developing countries and invited youngsters from other countries to visit China.
China is helping more and more young people from other developing countries realize their dreams. Those youngsters, who become interested in the Chinese language and culture, are coming to China for study and work and becoming envoys of friendship between China and their own countries.
As a Latin American proverb goes, a real friend is someone who is able to touch your heart from the other side of the world. Indonesians often say that it’s easy to make money but difficult to make friends. There is a also saying in Persian that people’s hearts are connected. These all indicate that people-to-people bonds can build a strong power and only sincerity can make friendship last.
China will always be a true friend and sincere partner of other developing countries, working with them to build a community with a shared future for mankind and jointly creating a brighter future for humanity.