CGTN: How China's proposed BRI will help incense manufacturers go global

2024-03-04 18:50:57

BEIJING, March 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Pu Lianggong has mastered the art of incense making, just like his Arabian ancestors.

Pu is nearly 70 years old and produces incense in Yongchun county in Quanzhou, a coastal city in east China’s Fujian province.

The craft of incense making has its roots in the ancient maritime Silk Road, which provided an important link for trade and cultural exchange between China’s southeastern coastal regions and foreign countries.

Pu belongs to a 10th generation Arab family that settled in Quanzhou, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, in 1646. As China’s maritime trade flourished during the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties, Quanzhou became the largest port in eastern China.

Pu’s Arab ancestors brought aromatic ingredients along the ancient Silk Road, made a living selling them, and gradually integrated into Quanzhou life, marrying locals and adopting the Chinese surname Pu.

The Pu family made incense using bamboo and aromatic ingredients from their homeland, which is different from the scented chips called “bakhoor” in most Arab countries. It resembles a Chinese incense stick, with bamboo sticks wrapped in ground aromatic ingredients.

Thanks to the Pu family’s influence, incense has become a thriving industry in Yongchun. Currently, there are nearly 300 incense factories there, selling their products to both domestic and foreign markets.

Thanks to the increase in international orders, workers and their families are enjoying more comfortable lives – an improvement partly due to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Proposed by China in 2013, the initiative aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and beyond along ancient Silk Road trade routes for shared development and prosperity.

The initiative serves as a platform to promote intercultural exchange and mutual understanding and offers the opportunity to promote diversity and integration.

Chinese President Xi Jinping once quoted an old Chinese saying: “A delicious soup is created by combining different ingredients” to explain the importance of diversity.

A shared future for humanity

“A delicious soup is created by combining different ingredients.”

The saying comes from the Chinese classic “History of the Three Kingdoms” and literally reflects the Chinese culinary tradition of using a variety of ingredients such as herbs, spices and vegetables to create a tasty soup. It highlights and shows the power of collaboration , that the value of diversity in human civilization is the source of human progress.

Citing them in a keynote speech at the United Nations office in Geneva in January 2017, Xi said diversity is “an engine for the progress of human civilizations.”

“There are more than 200 countries and regions, over 2,500 ethnic groups and numerous religions in our world. Different histories, national circumstances, ethnic groups and customs have given rise to different civilizations and make the world a colorful world,” Xi said.

“We should make exchanges between civilizations a source of inspiration for the progress of human society and a bond that keeps the world at peace.”

Xi stressed the need to create an open and inclusive world through exchanges and mutual learning, adding that exchanges between civilizations are “a source of inspiration for the progress of human society” and “a bond that keeps the world in peace.” holds”.

The old Chinese saying fits very well with the history of incense production in Yongchun. Centuries ago, Arabic flavorings came to China as “messengers,” were integrated and developed with Chinese flavorings, and eventually spread throughout the world.

Today, the Arab states, which were important participants in the ancient Silk Road trade routes, are important partners of China in the BRI.

Over the last decade, the BRI has had a positive impact on populations in partner countries by providing them with employment opportunities and facilitating international trade.

From 2013 to 2022, total trade between China and BRI partner countries will reach $19.1 trillion, with an average annual growth rate of 6.4 percent, according to a white paper. As of June 2023, China had signed more than 200 BRI cooperation agreements with more than 150 countries and 30 international organizations across five continents, resulting in a number of significant and smaller but impactful projects.

China has also made efforts to bring BRI partner countries and organizations together through joint cultural activities, including the establishment of international alliances of theaters, museums, art festivals and libraries such as the International Alliance of Museums of the Silk Road and the Silk Road International League of Theaters.

By connecting different cultures and countries, the BRI promotes cooperation, openness and inclusiveness around the world, bringing China closer to its goal of building a community with a shared future for humanity to promote common development.

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