China has made considerable progress in cultural exchanges with other countries during the last five years, Vice Minister of Culture Meng Xiaosi said Tuesday.

The Vice Minister said at a national working conference here Tuesday that China's efforts to promote its resourceful culture to the world have paid off. Breakthroughs in the scale and scope of cultural exchanges have been made over the previous five years.

Official statistics show that since 1996 Chinese cultural delegations to other countries and foreign cultural delegations to China have numbered 210, and the ministry has signed more than 110 culture exchange contracts with foreign counterparts. And the ministry has approved over 7,950 projects involving 110,000 artists and staff around the world.

In addition, Meng Xiaosi said, non-governmental cultural exchange projects accounted for over 90 percent of the total.

According to the vice minister, her ministry has strengthened cultural ties with the United States, Russia, Japan and European countries in particular, which is in tune with the country's diplomatic policies.

She noted that big projects such as the China Arts Festival, China Arts Week and China Cultural Relics Exhibition featured in the exchange activities.

Meanwhile, her ministry made efforts to introduce outstanding cultural forms from other countries beginning in 1996.

(People's Daily 05/15/2001)