As Chinese President Xi Jinping is about to pay a state visit to France, on April 30, China Central Radio and Television and the French Embassy in China jointly launched a large-scale Sino-French food and cultural exchange program in the name of food and culture as a medium. "Pea

As Chinese President Xi Jinping is about to pay a state visit to France, on April 30, China Central Radio and Television and the French Embassy in China jointly launched a large-scale Sino-French food and cultural exchange in the name of food and culture as a medium. The program "Peak Food - Sino-French Chef Competition". Shen Haixiong, Vice Minister of the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee and Director of China Central Radio and Television, Bai Yutang, French Ambassador to China, and Wu Weishan, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Democratic League, Director of the National Art Museum of China, and Corresponding Academician of the Académie Française, delivered speeches at the event and interacted with the guests. Jointly launch the program.

Shen Haixiong said that in recent years, under the leadership of the two heads of state, people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries have continued to deepen, setting an example for mutual learning among world civilizations. As a comprehensive international media aircraft carrier with the largest scale, the most business forms, and the widest coverage in the world today, China Central Radio and Television has carried out a series of fruitful cooperation with friends from all walks of life in France, continuously expanding the vast space for cultural exchanges between China and France. The mutual integration of food and culture is deeply engraved in the memories of the people of China and France. It is not only an art on the tip of the tongue, but also an exchange and integration between people and the world, and between people. This time, the large-scale Sino-French food and cultural exchange program "Peak Food - Sino-French Chef Competition" is launched, challenging the fusion of dishes, tracing the origin of flavor ingredients, interpreting cooking techniques, and then tracing the history of civilization and the changes in color, aroma, taste and shape. , presenting the customs, customs and cultural wisdom of China and France, and promoting the spiritual connection and emotional affinity between the two peoples. China Central Radio and Television is willing to learn from each other and work with friends from all walks of life in France to move towards a better future together.

Bai Yutang said, "The art of food is the most exquisite form of diplomacy." Promoting French and Chinese food culture is undoubtedly the best way to highlight the close ties between the two countries. In recent years, food has played an important role in the exchanges between senior leaders of the two countries. At the 2019 Shanghai International Import Expo, the two heads of state toasted and drank wine together; not long ago, President Xi Jinping promoted and advocated the "from French farm to Chinese table" mechanism, which has become a beautiful business card of France-China cooperation. For France, food is not only an art, but also an ecosystem formed based on the local characteristics. While giving full play to the characteristics of high-quality ingredients, it also focuses on spending happy time together, delivering delicious food and the joy of sharing. In this extraordinary year marking the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between France and China and the Year of Culture and Tourism between France and China, China Central Radio and Television has launched the program "Peak Food - Sino-French Chef Competition" to present an exchange dialogue between France and China on food and culture. , to further strengthen the long-standing ties of people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries through cultural inheritance and innovative means.

Wu Weishan shared the story of deepening friendship with his French colleagues through artistic exchanges over the past thirty years and his love for Chinese and French cuisine. He said that cultural exchanges have always been an important part of China-France bilateral relations. This year coincides with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France and the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism. It is also the year of the Paris Olympics, providing a historic opportunity for cultural exchanges and media cooperation between the two countries. The delicacies of China and France each have different tastes, carry different cultures, and are all skillfully prepared by chefs. The large-scale Sino-French food and cultural exchange program "Peak Food - Sino-French Chef Competition" launched by China Central Radio and Television uses food as a bridge and is a down-to-earth and popular cultural exchange. We look forward to seeing the new chef kings of China and France form teams to compete and start a culinary feast at the pinnacle of Chinese and French culture in the name of gourmet food. I believe that under the theme of beauty, cultural exchanges between China and France will have a better future.

At the launch ceremony, Qin Zhuonan, the representative inheritor of the traditional cooking skills of local dishes, a Shanghai intangible cultural heritage, and Christophe Riou, the executive chef of Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing, Beijing, shared their mutual appreciation and love for Chinese and French cuisine. Greeting each other in the name of good food. The famous actor Liu Ye, as a representative member of the program tasting team, expressed his expectations for participating in the Sino-French Chef King Competition.

The large-scale Sino-French food and cultural exchange program "Peak Food - Sino-French Chef Competition" has 10 episodes, each episode is 60 minutes, and brings together 20 emerging chefs from China and France to form a team for a peak competition, and is hosted by diplomatic envoys, Well-known cultural scholars and others will form a food tasting group to taste together, and the winning dishes will be selected into the "Sino-French Master Chef Menu". The program will be broadcast online on multiple CCTV channels and new media platforms of China Central Radio and Television Station and French media in July. It will use the cross-cultural dialogue between Chinese and French taste buds to taste the taste of food, feel the beauty of culture, and realize the prosperity of exchanges.

Heads of relevant departments of China Central Radio and Television Station, the Press Counselor of the French Embassy in China, etc. attended the release ceremony.

(Photography: Sun Nan Zhou Yin)

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