"Known as a prominent poet, scholar and thinker, Nizami Ganjavi made outstanding contributions to the cultural integration between the west and the east. He is also well-known in China. In 2012, a statue of him was set up in Beijing Chaoyang Park for the Chinese people to pay their respects. With the attention and strong support from President Ilham Aliyev, Nizami Ganjavi International Center (NGIC) has played an increasingly important role in promoting dialogue and understanding among different civilizations and building inclusive societies and has become an internationally renowned institution dedicated to people-to-people diplomacy," President of the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs (CPIFA) Wang Chao said in his interview with AZERTAC’s special correspondent.

"CPIFA and NGIC started cooperation in 2017. Since then, we have conducted fruitful cooperation and made great contribution to the friendship between our two peoples. All our work has been highly acclaimed and supported by our leaders of state. Two of my predecessors, Mr. Mei Zhaorong and Mr. Wu Hailong, respectively led a delegation to the Baku Global Forum and delivered a speech on China-related topics, enhancing the international community’s understanding about China. We’re deeply honored that President Ilham Aliyev received CPIFA’s delegation in March 2019," he noted.

"In June 2019, CPIFA and NGIC co-hosted the 17th High-Level Beijing Meeting. During the meeting, Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan met with the delegates from NGIC. The members of NGIC are eminent statesmen in Europe and beyond and they’re CPIFA’s old friends. Some visited China at the invitation of CPIFA, some attended the XVII High-Level Beijing Meeting and the Understanding China Conference. During their stay in China, they carried out candid exchanges with Chinese officials and scholars and provided fresh insights into how to facilitate the positive interaction between China and the world, improve the global governance system and promote globalization and multi-polarization. All these could not have been possible without the strong support from NGIC and I’d like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation again.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, our face-to-face communication has been affected, while our cooperation has not stop. After the outbreak of COVID-19 in China at the beginning of 2020, the members of NGIC sent letters to express sympathy, donated anti-epidemic medical supplies to China and invited its members to send video messages to firmly support China’s fight against the pandemic. We are highly grateful for all this. Besides, CPIFA and NGIC overcame the impact of COVID-19 and held several video conferences to exchange views on joint response to the pandemic, the international situation and other important issues, thus further consolidating the friendship between our two peoples," Wang Chao mentioned.

"I’d like to reiterate that CPIFA has always attached great importance to its relationship with NGIC and is ready to continue to deepen our friendly exchanges and cooperation. Through this, we hope to contribute to the exchanges and mutual understanding among different civilizations as well as world peace and development. I was scheduled to attend the Baku Global Forum in Azerbaijan on March 2020 but just could not make it due to the pandemic. I’m looking forward to attending the Baku Global Forum by the end of this year and wish it a complete success," the CPIFA president added.