RIYADH, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- The first China-Arab States Summit took place in the afternoon of Dec 9 at King Abdul Aziz International Conference Center in Saudi capital Riyadh.In a declaration issued by the First China-Arab Summit Riyadh Declaration following the summit, leaders of China and the member states of the Arab League agreed to make every effort to build a China-Arab community with a shared future in the new era.

　　Article 5 of the Joint Declaration of the Cooperation and Development Summit of the People's Republic of China and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf: "The leaders of the two sides expressed their willingness to strengthen the dialogue of civilizations and the exchange and mutual appreciation among different cultures, to preserve the diversity of civilizations, and stressed that the inclusive coexistence of peoples and nationalities is the most important principle and value basis of the international community. The exchange and cooperation between the two sides in the fields of culture, education, tourism, journalism and sports as well as friendly exchanges between think tanks of the two sides are encouraged, as well as people-to-people contact between the two sides."

　　The World Expo Museum, as the only official museum and official documentation center of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) played an active role during the Expo 2020 Dubai, carrying out a series of China-Arab cultural exchange activities in the Expo site.

　　The first Expo in the Middle East: Expo Dubai

　　In the first half of this year, Expo 2020 Dubai, the first Expo in the history of the World Expo to be held in the Middle East, has just concluded.

　　Themed "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future," Expo 2020 Dubai featured 192 countries and regions, bringing together the international community and promoting global cooperation.

　　China-Arab culture collides in calligraphy

　　During Expo 2020 Dubai, the Shanghai World Expo Museum co-hosted a series of cultural exchange activities on World Arabic Day with the League of Arab States (LAS) and the United Nations Department of Global Communications (DGCC), "Language, a Bridge between Civilizations", a cultural exchange exhibition of China-Arab calligraphy.

　　Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Arab League Secretary General, Hossam Zaki, Arab League Assistant Secretary-General and General Representative of the LAS Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, and Maher Nasser, Director of the Outreach Department of the UN Department of Global Communications and General Representative of the UN Expo 2020 Dubai, attended the event.

　　From left: Hossam Zaki, Arab League Assistant Secretary-General, Maher Nasser, Director of the Outreach Department of the UN Department of Global Communications, Aboul Gheit, Arab League Secretary General, Ma Ying, Executive Director of World Expo Museum, and Ma Limeng, Media Liaison Officer

　　Culture and art are the best way to communicate and learn from each other on the grand stage of the Expo, playing an irreplaceable role in promoting people-to-people contacts and exchanges. Ma Ying, Executive Director of the World Expo Museum, said at the event that as the world's oldest and most widely spoken languages, Arabic and Chinese have played an irreplaceable role in promoting the spread of ancient science, technology and art. The calligraphy exhibition displays Arabic and Chinese calligraphy against each other, allowing visitors to experience the charm of both cultures in the aesthetic process and deepen their knowledge and understanding of China-Arabic culture.

　　Culture combines all the meanings of shared history, identity, suffering and language, which are our pride, said Arab League Secretary General Gheit.

　　On-site explanation of the evolution of the China-Arabic script for the guests

　　Maher Nasser, Director of the Outreach Division of the United Nations Department of Global Communications, introduced in the interview that Arabic is the language of science, the language representing civilization and culture, spoken by 420 million people worldwide, and the official language of 22 countries.

　　Hossam Zaki, Assistant Secretary General of Arab League, stressed that the Arabic language is a bridge between China and the Arab countries, that it is ancient and important, and that it is very important that when Chinese friends start learning Arabic, they can have a better understanding of Arab society and culture.

　　"The Eight Principles of Yong" is a compulsory course for the introduction to Chinese calligraphy, and it is the same in essence as the Arabic initials "?" (Arif). Going back to the original point of calligraphy, we find that although we have exhausted the flow of lines and the interpretation of chapters, they are born from "one" and transformed by "one", always running through the highest spirit of Eastern philosophy, the way of "all things return to one".

　　The Eight Principles of Yong in Chinese and The King of the Alphabet in Arabic

　　Chinese and Arabic writing instruments demonstrate that "to do a good job, one must first improve one's tools." It is a reflection of both civilizations' pursuit of continuous improvement of calligraphy tools. The history of the development of writing instruments over the centuries is a testimony to the socio-cultural background, and its evolution can be interpreted as the spiritual connotation of traditional Eastern culture, as well as the cultural concepts and aesthetic styles of different periods.

　　A cross-referencing display of Chinese and Arabic writing instruments for the guests

　　Saudi calligrapher Nugansh, whose calligraphy was inspired by Chinese calligraphy and developed his own style, said in the interview, "When you see a Chinese character, you immediately associate in your memory a flash of its culture, and the same is true of Arabic calligraphy. This is why I believe that words and language are the most powerful form of identity."

　　Saudi calligrapher Nugansh performs calligraphy on site

　　卡塔尔书法家现场为参观者书写阿拉伯语

　　Qatari calligrapher writes Arabic for visitors

　　The World Expo Museum is playing an active role in Expo 2020 Dubai, and the exhibition is a positive response to the Expo's theme of "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future", with activities such as forums, and contributing to the international exchange of Expo power.

　　LAS Pavilion Donates Core Exhibits to the World Expo Museum

　　Exhibiting at Expo 2020 Dubai was also the perfect platform for the World Expo Museum to engage in dialogue with the international Expo community. During the exhibition, the World Expo Museum continued to engage in inter-pavilion exchanges with national and international organization pavilions, introducing the members of the international Expo family to the Expo Pavilion's purpose, mission and business practices in passing on the Expo legacy.

　　Donation: League of Arab States: 75 Years of the Pan-Arab Action

　　The League of Arab States Pavilion has donated the core exhibit of the pavilion, League of Arab States: 75 Years of the Pan-Arab Action, to the World Expo Museum.

　　Presentation of "Certificate of Donation" to the General Representative of the LAS Pavilion

　　As the only official museum of BIE, the Expo Museum will always fulfill the purpose of inheriting the Expo heritage and promoting the spirit of the Expo, and will continue to cooperate with the organizers after the Dubai Expo through the Documentation and Research Center and WE Library, relying on the framework of the full-cycle cooperation with BIE and the Dubai Expo Bureau, to continue the spirit of "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future".