The 2024 Beijing Culture Forum kicked off in Beijing on Thursday.
The forum has "Inheritance, Creativity, and Mutual Learning" as its permanent theme, with this year's sub-theme being "Deepening Cultural Exchange to Achieve Common Progress".
The three-day event, which included a main forum, six sub-forums, and 32 seminars and cultural activities, attracted more than 800 domestic and foreign representatives from over 70 countries and regions to exchange views on the development of the cultural sector.
A report on China's cultural exchanges with the world in 2023 was released at Thursday's opening ceremony, showing that in the face of challenges and opportunities, cultural exchanges between China and other countries showed a rapid recovery and a positive trajectory last year.
The opening ceremony also witnessed the release of a list of the top cultural 10 events in 2023 in Beijing, including the return of seven lost stone columns to the old Summer Palace, and the opening of the Chinese archaeology museum.
Speakers at the forum stressed the need to strengthen cultural inheritance and cherish historical and cultural traditions.
They said that countries should promote the prosperity of cultural activities by encouraging artists and inspiring people to create cultural content online.
Speakers also called for efforts to deepen mutual cultural learning and implement the Global Civilization Initiative. A cultural industry investors' conference will be held for the first time during this year's forum.
2024 Beijing Culture Forum kicks off
European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday that Israel's latest strikes on Lebanon, which killed hundreds overnight, did not fall within self-defense.
"Israel's right to defend itself does not justify inflicting such massive destruction," Kallas said in a post on social media platform X.
She warned that the strikes risk further destabilizing the region, and that Israel's actions were putting the U.S.-Iran ceasefire under severe strain.
The United States and Iran announced a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday evening, less than two hours before a deadline set by Washington in the morning. Israel said it accepts the truce but will continue fighting in Lebanon against Hezbollah.
Kallas noted that the ceasefire should be extended to Lebanon.
So far, the Israeli strikes on Wednesday across Lebanon had killed at least 303 people and injured 1,150 others, with densely populated neighborhoods in the capital of Beirut among the hardest hit, the Lebanese Health Ministry said on Thursday.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced Wednesday that Thursday would be observed as a national day of mourning for the victims and injured in Israeli attacks that targeted hundreds of civilians.
All public administrations, institutions and municipalities would close, national flags would be lowered to half-staff, and radio and television broadcasts would be adjusted to reflect the national mourning, according to the prime minister.
He said that he had remained in contact with Arab leaders and international officials to step up Lebanon's political and diplomatic efforts aimed at halting the Israeli attacks.
Meanwhile, regional countries and international organizations have strongly condemned the deadly Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
During a phone call with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday, Jordan's King Abdullah II underscored the need to halt Israeli aggression against Lebanon and the targeting of civilians.
The king also stressed the importance of stepping up international efforts to put an end to the aggression against Lebanon.
Pakistan, acting as a mediator in a U.S.-Iran ceasefire, also condemned the strikes, calling them a violation of international law and humanitarian principles.
Speaking by phone with the Lebanese president, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned Israel's ongoing aggression against Lebanon and expressed condolences over the loss of thousands of precious lives in the hostilities.
Russia also strongly condemns Israel's latest airstrikes on Lebanon, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Thursday.
Zakharova noted that such aggressive actions threaten to derail the emerging negotiation process and increase the risk of a resumption of large-scale armed confrontation in the Middle East.
Zakharova said that Russia advocates for an immediate ceasefire in the Israeli-Lebanese conflict zone and a return to the focus of political and diplomatic efforts, including ensuring the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
Austria's foreign ministry on Thursday called on Israel to immediately stop its military operations against civilian targets and infrastructure in Lebanon.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also said on Thursday that the Middle East ceasefire should include Lebanon at a news conference alongside his Syrian counterpart Asaad Hassan al-Shibani in Ankara.
Israeli strikes on Lebanon do not fall within self-defense: EU foreign policy chief
