Sino-Egypt dialogue on cultural, creative industries held in Cairo

CAIRO, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Cultural Center in Cairo held late Saturday a Sino-Egyptian dialogue on cultural and creative industries, which was largely attended by the Egyptian audience.

The event is part of "Experiencing Beijing," a series of activities organized by the Chinese Cultural Center in Cairo, which aims to introduce the Chinese capital to the Egyptian public.

At the beginning of the dialogue, Li Wei, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress, and Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang inaugurated an exhibition of cultural and creative industries from Beijing.

The exhibition showcased some 60 pieces inspired by the most prominent cultural attractions in Beijing such as the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace.

During the event, some Chinese women showed their skills to the Egyptian guests on how to make Beijing embroidery, an effort that was highly applauded.

In his speech, Li said Egypt and China are ancient civilizations, adding there has been intensive cooperation since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1956.

"Cultural products that illustrate Beijing's culture and the charm of the Chinese culture can be seen in details at the exhibition," he said, adding the event will help the Egyptians to get a closer look at the Chinese capital.

For his part, Chinese Cultural Counselor to Egypt Shi Yuewen said the dialogue discussed the concept of the development of self-revolution and the open development of the Chinese cultural industries, which created a new imaginative creative space originating from the traditional Chinese culture.

"Skilled thinkers are changing perceptions, and innovators are always looking for new things, so our topic today is cultural industries and, more specifically, the development of cultural fields, which is the real start of the spark of thought," Shi added.

Meanwhile, former Egyptian Minister of Culture Shaker Abdel-Hamid said China is a model worthy of emulation, noting "if the political and the popular will come together, they will make miracles."

The Belt and Road Initiative reflects China's desire to communicate with the world, Abdel-Hamid said in his speech.

On the sidelines of the dialogue, an agreement was signed to promote cultural and tourism cooperation between the Center for Cultural Industries Development in Beijing and Egypt's Star Shine Group for Tourism and Culture.

Cultural exchanges increased as China and Egypt upgraded their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2014, with artists, cultural and musical delegations paying mutual visits.