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12:30, 27-Apr-2018
China lauds India's move to make Aamir Khan a brand ambassador
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01:10
As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in China to hold informal, but strategic talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping over the next two days, Beijing has welcomed reports suggesting New Delhi is mulling appointing Bollywood actor Aamir Khan as its brand ambassador to enhance cultural ties between the two countries.
"Aamir Khan is a very famous Indian actor. Many Chinese, including myself, have watched his movie Dangal. In the movie, Mahavir Singh Phogat and his daughters fought for their dream and realized their dream. The story is very inspiring," China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Thursday, while rooting for increased cultural exchanges between India and China.
In recent years, Khan’s movies, such as ‘Three Idiots’, ‘Dangal’ and ‘Secret Superstar’, have witnessed phenomenal success in China, making the Bollywood actor a household name in the country.
According to media reports, the Indian Commerce Ministry is aiming to capitalize on the popularity of the actor by appointing him as a brand ambassador to promote culture as well as trade between the two countries.
Related story: Exclusive with Indian actor Aamir Khan
'Cultural ties on the upswing'
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying addresses a press conference in Beijing on April 26, 2018. /Photo via China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying addresses a press conference in Beijing on April 26, 2018. /Photo via China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs
With Modi and Xi expected to engage in a freewheeling discussion in the central Chinese city of Wuhan over Friday and Saturday that is aimed at giving bilateral relations a long-term strategic dimension, Hua asserted that China and India have seen “intimate interaction” recently.
"We can see that China-India relations maintain a momentum of development under the strategic guidance of their leaders,” she said adding that the cultural exchanges have witnessed a significant upswing in recent times.
“There are 14 pairs of sister cities between China and India. Regarding people-to-people exchanges, mutual visits exceeded one million last year. More than 20,000 Indian students study in China. A total of 42 flights fly between China and India every week. Doing yoga and watching Bollywood movies are becoming a new trend among young Chinese people,” she elaborated.
“We think that these kinds of cultural exchanges undoubtedly bring the two the peoples closer, also boost the understanding, friendship and mutual trust between the two peoples," Hua stressed.
Students boost people-to-people contact
03:12
Spurred by their interest in Bollywood movies, an increasing number of Chinese students are learning Hindi and other Indian languages such as Bengali, Tamil and Urdu, as was cited at a recent event Beijing celebrating the “language diplomacy” between the neighbors.
According to reports, the Hindi language is being taught as a subject in about 16 universities across China. Three Chinese universities are teaching Tamil and Bengali while Urdu is being taught at 10 universities.
On the other hand, there’s been a significant jump in the number of Indian students seeking higher education in China and also learning Mandarin.
According to the latest data, there are now more Indian students in China than in the UK, which has traditionally been among the top choices, along with the US and Australia. The number of Indian students in China stood at 18,171 compared with 18,015 in the UK, The Times of India newspaper reported, citing figures for 2016.
A study by the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), which analyzed the latest trend in studying abroad worldwide and within China from 2016 to 2017, ranked India among the top five countries sending students to China.
[Cover Photo: Bollywood star Aamir Khan (right) with Chinese actor and director Huang Bo at an event to promote "Secret Superstar" in Beijing, on Jan. 24, 2018. /VCG Photo]
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