CAIRO,April4(Xinhua)--ChinesePresidentXiJinpingrecentlywrotebacktorepresentativesofwell-knownArabartistswhoparticipatedinthe"SilkRoadArtists"Rendezvous"visittoChina,encouragingthemtocreatemoreartworksthatreflectChina-Arabfriendshipandmakenewcontributionstoenhancingfriendshipbetweentheirpeople.

SomeArabartiststoldXinhuathattheyaredeeplyinspiredbyXi"sreply,pledgingtopromoteexchangesbetweenChineseandArabcultures.

EgyptianartistIbrahimEl-DesoukiFahmy"hasastrongfeelingofprideanddelight"whenhelearnedthecontentsoftheletter.

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Theartist,whotaughtartatCairoUniversityfrom1992to1997,joinedsome50famousArabartiststowritethelettertoXirecently.

"PresidentXi"swordstouchedmyheart,especiallyhisemphasisontherolethatcultureandartcanplayinpromotingunderstandingandfosteringmutuallearningbetweenChinaandtheArabcountries,"hesaid.

Xisaidintheletterthatculturecanconnecthearts,andartcaninterlinktheworld.

HealsonotedthatfromtheopeningoftheancientSilkRoadtotheBeltandRoadcooperation,exchangesbetweenChineseandArabcivilizationshavespannedthousandsofyearswithmutualappreciation,writingahistoricallegacyofmutuallearning.

AhmedNawar,anEgyptianartistwhoisaco-authorofthelettertoXi,saidhewasveryhappywhentheyreceivedthereplyfromtheChinesepresident.

TalkingaboutthereasonwhyhewantedtowritethelettertoXi,Nawar,aprofessorwiththeFacultyofFineArtinEgypt"sHelwanUniversity,said,"IfeltitismydutytoexpressthefeelingsofartistsregardingtheprogresswesawinChinainallfields,especiallytheartistic,culturalandcivilizationalspheres."

Describingthejourneysas"inspiringatallrealms,includinghuman,cultural,andartistic,"NawarsaidthathealsowantedtopromotethedialoguebetweenArabandChinesecivilizationsandenhancetheirartisticandculturalexchanges.

AfterlearningthatXihasrepliedtotheArabartists,76-year-oldAlgerianartistDjemaiRashid,whojoinedagroupofArabartistsonatriptoChinain2012andattendedtheBeijingInternationalArtBiennalein2019,decidedtoprinttheletterandtreasureitup.

"ItwasagreathonortoreceiveareplyfromPresidentXiJinping,"hesaid,hailingXiasagreatleaderwhohighlyregardsthedevelopmentofcultureandart,aswellasculturalexchanges.

HesaidhewasimpressedbyXi"spromotionofdialogueamongcivilizationsaswellasofculturalmutuallearningonmanyoccasions,suchastheChina-ArabStatesSummitheldlastDecember.

WhilepraisingChinaforits"incredibleprogress"inthefieldofarts,RashidhopedthatartistsfromArabcountriesandChinawouldhavemoreopportunitiestointeract,learnfromeachotherandimprovetogether.

PalestinianartistfromtheGazaStripMajedShalasaidthattheArabshavewitnessedtheprogressinChina"seconomicdevelopment,andthatanimportantfactorthatfacilitatesChina"sfastdevelopmentisits"ancientandsplendidcivilization."

ChinaandArabcountrieshaveachievedfruitfulcooperationinpolitical,economicandotherfieldsinrecentyears,anditisnecessarytostrengthenculturalexchanges,whichwillhelpmorePalestiniansandArabsunderstandChina,acountrywitharichhistory,saidShala.

Inthisregard,helaudedtheeightmajorcooperationinitiativesproposedbyXiduringhisvisittoSaudiArabialatelastyear,whichincludedthepromotionofinter-civilizationaldialoguebetweenChinaandArabcountries.

ChineseandArabcivilizationsaretwoimportantcivilizationsintheworld,whilecultureandartareimportantbridgesforpromotingexchangesbetweenpeoples,Shalasaid.

WiththecommonwilloftheleadersfrombothChinaandArabcountries,cooperationintheculturalfieldwillbefurtherstrengthenedinthefuture,hesaid.

ZeinaBarhoum,aJordaniansopranoandfounderoftheAmmanOperaFestival,hasbeeninvitedtoperforminChinaforseveraltimesandhasreleasedanalbumtitled"AlcantaraII,ZeinainChina,"whichincludesasongcalled"TheDreamofSilkRoad,"aduetwithaChinesetenor.

ThealbumseekstoreviewthehistoryoftheancientSilkRoadandthelong-standingChina-Arabfriendship,aswellastopromoteculturalcommunicationbetweenChinaandtheArabworld,Barhoumsaid,addingthatChineseandArabartists,includingsingers,canplayagreaterroleindeepeningbilateralcooperation,promotingpeople-to-peoplebondsandstrengtheningmutuallearningbetweenthetwocivilizations.

OntheChina-proposedGlobalCivilizationInitiative,shesaidthatartistsneedtopaymoreattentiontotheinheritanceandinnovationofcivilization,whichcantapthevalueofthetimesinhistoryandculture,andpromotetheinnovativedevelopmentoftraditionalcultureinvariouscountries.■