La Paz, 17 Oct (Xinhua) -- "The concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind advocates people to move forward hand in hand, which is a 'win-win' solution to the problems facing the world today." Former Bolivian Foreign Minister Fernando Wanacuni Mamani said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency in La Paz a few days ago that the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping not only meets the needs of common human development, but also emphasizes the relationship between man and the natural environment, providing the world with solutions to challenges and create a better future.
Video loading...
In Vanakuni's view, the world in the midst of a century of change is facing a crisis, and one of the reasons for the crisis is Western capitalism. He believes that some Western countries have always had a colonial mentality, plundering Latin American resources while exporting crises to Latin America. What China offers is a win-win solution, which is "very important" for Latin American countries.
Wanakuni believes that President Xi Jinping's concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind and jointly building the "Belt and Road" initiative are of "fundamental" significance to the international community and have opened up "a new era, a new concept of governance, and a new way to help the world".
Wanakuni told reporters that under the common concern of the leaders of Bolivia and China, the relations between the two countries have reached an unprecedented level, and the most important reason for the rapid development of bilateral relations is mutual trust.
He said that the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind and the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative "first brought together the hearts of the people in Bolivia." With the active participation of Chinese builders, Bolivia has built a number of roads and bridges. "Especially in the provinces of Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, this region has high requirements for the ecological environment, both to build road connectivity and to protect Mother Earth," Vanakuni said. ”
This is the opening ceremony of the Palapetti New Bridge photographed in San Antonio, Bolivia, on February 7, 2020. Xinhua News Agency reporter Xin Yuewei photographed
Bolivia is a mountainous country with a landlocked plateau, and connectivity has always been the most urgent need of the local people.
In February 2020, in the Amazon rainforest area where the Guaraní people of Bolivia have lived for generations, the new bridge of the El Espino Highway Palapetti built by China Railway Group was officially opened to traffic. Chinese enterprises have overcome many difficulties to promote road construction, and the 160-kilometer-long El Espino Highway is expected to be temporarily inspected by the end of this year. In order to protect the local ecological environment, the construction party built more than 300 culverts to ensure the passage of wild animals. After the discovery of the cultural relics of the Guaraní people along the construction line, China Railway Group also assisted the local cultural relics protection and preparation for the construction of the museum.
In order to solve the water problem of residents in La Paz Province, Bolivia, Chinese builders of China Water Resources and Hydropower Fourth Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd. are stationed at construction sites above 4,000 meters above sea level all year round. When completed, this water supply project is expected to meet the irrigation needs of thousands of hectares of land and the water needs of 40% of the population in La Paz.
From these Sino-Bolivian cooperation projects, Wanakuni truly felt that the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind advocates the common interests and sustainable development of all mankind, and these projects in which Chinese builders are involved are "vivid cases" of this concept taking root in Bolivia.
"Win-win" has been fully reflected in these China-Glass cooperation projects. In Vanakuni's view, "win-win" is an important connotation of the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind, and different countries and different people need a win-win situation, and man and nature also need a win-win situation. "As a country, as a human being, we have a common destiny, and we also need to pay attention to nature, to pay attention to different forms of natural existence such as mountains, rivers, trees, etc."
This is a file photo of former Bolivian Foreign Minister Fernando Wanacuni Mamani recently in La Paz in an exclusive interview with a Xinhua reporter. Photo by Zhao Kai, a reporter from Xinhua News Agency
Vanakuni has visited China many times and has a unique and in-depth understanding of traditional Chinese culture. He believes that Bolivia's traditional culture focuses on the protection of land, resources and cultural heritage, which coincides with the values and concepts that China has advocated since ancient times. President Xi Jinping's concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind and the idea of ecological civilization integrate China's long-standing culture and historical experience and promote people to enter a new stage of development.
Wanakuni has a special "kung fu relationship" with China. He first saw orthodox Chinese martial arts in Bolivia when he was 18 years old, and he was intrigued by the kung fu demonstrated by visiting Shaolin monks. In December 1999, at the age of 33, Wanakuni went to the Shaolin Temple to study art, and for the next three years he ate and lived with the monks of the Shaolin Temple, learning kung fu and Zen. After returning to Bolivia, Vanacuni, a lawyer and historian, has been teaching Shaolin Kung Fu part-time and has taken students to China for further studies several times. After being appointed Bolivian foreign minister in January 2017, Wanakuni continued to spread Chinese martial arts and returned to the Shaolin Temple in August 2017 during a visit to China.
Wanakuni told reporters that although Boslovakia is far apart, there are many similarities: both are multi-ethnic countries with a long history; China has the roof of the world, and Bolivia is a country of plateaus. The economies of the two countries are also very complementary. In the face of new opportunities and challenges, Wanakuni expects the two countries to push bilateral relations to a higher level and share development experiences in greater depth, "We all have a common destiny, let us work together towards a new future."
-END-
Chief Planner: Zhou Zongmin, Yuan Bingzhong
Planner: Sun Chengbin, Ni Siyi, Ban Wei
Producer: Wang Lei, Jiang Yan, Feng Junyang, Wei Jianhua, Shang Jun
Co-ordinators: Xie Peng, Qi Zijian, Yan Junyan, Xu Haijing, Wang Lu, Liu Chang, Wang Zhao, Liu Wanli, Geng Xuepeng
Choreographer: Liu Yuchen, Ma Xiaoyan
Reporter: Zhao Kai, Wu Hao
Editors: Yang Tianmu, Wang Zhao, Wang Yanan, Chen Yao, Ma Xiaoyan, Zhang Dailei, Chen and Tang De, Wang Nan
Voiced by: Dong Fei
Packing: Du Yanqin
Vision: Wang Yanqing
Xinhua News Agency, International Department, China Xinhua News and Television Network (CNC), Xinhua Net, and Photography Department co-produced
Produced by Xinhua News Agency's international communication integration platform