Vice President calls for enhanced culture exchange

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Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping has attended the opening ceremony of the Frankfurt Book Fair during his visit to Germany. He called for enhancing cultural exchanges to boost mutual respect.

The Frankfurt Book Fair is the world's biggest annual book fair and this year, China was selected as the Guest of Honor.

Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were on hand for its 61st opening.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Xi said the fair not only provides a vital chance for China to appreciate elite cultural products from around the world, but also opens a window for the people from various nations to get a closer look at Chinese culture.

Xi said the Chinese side will take the opportunity of serving as the Guest of Honor to introduce Chinese culture as well as its prosperous development in the publishing industry.

The Chinese side will also learn from the successful experience of other countries in publishing to increase communication and cooperation in this particular field.

From October the 14th to the 18th, the Chinese side will host over 600 Guest of Honor events, aimed at boosting dialogue between Chinese scholars and their foreign counterparts.

Xi noted that China upholds the idea of building a harmonious world with sustained peace and common prosperity.

Xi Jinping expressed his belief that cultural exchanges require understanding and respect, as well as overcoming discrimination and misunderstandings.

The vice president added that thanks to the exchanges among world cultures, people from different countries have learned about Johann Wolfgang von Goethe from Germany, William Shakespeare from Britain and Confucius from China.

Frankfurt is the hometown of Goethe, the famous German writer and poet. After the fair's opening ceremony, Xi took in the Frankfurt Geothe Museum.

Xi also visited China's Theme Pavilion and officially unveiled the hall for public tours.