BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called on the International Committee for the Promotion of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives (ICCIC) to continue international cultural exchanges and make new contributions to world peace and development.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in a letter in reply to the ICCIC and Beijing Bailie University.

This year marks the 120th birth anniversary of Rewi Alley, the founder of the Bailie schools and a famous social activist who helped build friendly relations between China and New Zealand. He lived and worked in China for 60 years.