Argentina awards cultural exchange medal to CMG president

Shen Haixiong, vice minister of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and president of China Media Group (CMG), was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award for International Cultural Exchanges and Cooperation by Argentina on Friday.

The award was granted to Shen by Argentine Ambassador to China Sabino Vaca Narvaja on behalf of President Alberto Fernandez for Shen's contribution to cultural and people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between China and the Latin American country.

President Fernandez attended the award ceremony via video link and spoke highly of bilateral ties.

He said that under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Chinese people extended a helping hand to Argentina when it encountered difficulties, and have always walked side by side with Argentina. On the issue of safeguarding sovereignty, the Argentine president pledged to meet China halfway, enhance world multipolarization and diversity of the international monetary system, and work with it to handle today's challenges.

At the award ceremony, Shen pointed out that the friendship between Chinese and Argentine people is passed down from generation to generation and their cooperation grows stronger with time. Continuously promoting the stability and long-term development of bilateral relations has become the consensus of the two countries, he added.

CMG will work to deepen people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and Argentina with greater enthusiasm, and contribute to the development of China-Argentina relations in the new era, Shen said.

The CMG president's award is the current Argentine administration's last medal conferred on a foreign figure.

The Argentine award recognizes senior foreign officials who have made outstanding contributions to enhancing political mutual trust and promoting cultural and people-to-people exchanges between Argentina and other countries.