ACC Secretary-General Attended the Opening Ceremony of the 3rd Silk Road International Film Festival

On 19 September 2016, the Opening Ceremony of the 3rd Silk Road International Film Festival was held in Xi’an. H.E. Mme. Gu Xiulian, former Vice Chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China and President of China-ASEAN Association, H.E. Mr. Hu Heping, Governor of Shaanxi Province, Mr. Yan Xiaohong, Vice Minister of State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, Mr. Wei Minzhou, Secretary of CPC Xi’an Municipal Committee, Mr. Liang Gui, Director of CPC Shaanxi Provincial Committee Propaganda Department, Ms. Zhu Jingzhi, Deputy Director of Shaanxi Provincial People’s Congress, Mr. Shangguan Jiqing, Mayor of Xi’an, diplomats of ASEAN Embassies in China, Film workers and media representatives from ASEAN and China attended the event. H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping, Secretary-General of ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) attended the Opening Ceremony upon invitation.

In his speech, Governor Hu Heping said that the Silk Road International Film Festival, since its inception in 2014, had been upholding the spirit of openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and cooperation, and promoting the Silk Road spirit and culture. The Festival had become a gala receiving worldwide attention. The Festival of this year would establish a platform for showcasing films of China and foreign countries, as well as a platform for cooperation and trade in this area. It would display the development of film industry and rich culture of the countries along the Silk Road. As the cradle of Chinese culture and starting point of the ancient Silk Road, Shaanxi had fostered many well-known film artists and famous films. Film industry had become one of Shaanxi’s famous brands. Shaanxi would strive to become the hub of communications connecting the Eurasian Continental Bridge and the Maritime Silk Road, the centre of international cultural exchange and tourism, the biggest transit base of logistics of the Silk Road economic belt, and an important platform integrating culture of Asia and Europe. Shaanxi regarded film industry as one of the pillars of cultural development, and would play a more important role in promoting cultural exchanges and people-to-people exchanges of the countries along the Belt and Road. 

Vice Minister Yan Xiaohong declared the opening of the  3rd Silk Road International Film Festival. Mayor Shangguan Jiqing called on the countries along the Silk Road to promote communication and development of Silk Road culture through cooperation in film industry.  

The Festival, under the theme "Film in Development, Culture with Diversity", is co-hosted by State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, Shaanxi Provincial Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, and the Municipal Government of Xi’an. The 5-day Festival would feature several events including Film Awards, Film Screening, Film Forum, Film Market, the Belt and Road Cultural Show, etc., making it a cultural event to highlight the films and culture of the countries along the Belt and Road. Representatives from film institutions, investors, film artists and scholars from over 20 countries attended this event. The Festival brought together 676 films from 35 countries and regions. The ASEAN Film Week, hosted by ACC, would become one of the highlights of the Festival.