by Xinhua writer Chen Dongshu

MALE, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- South Asian countries are seeking new opportunities for development through friendly cooperation with China, and promoting people-to-people exchanges is crucial to furthering bilateral relations, experts said at a recent forum on China-South Asia cooperation.

"The 21st century is the century of Asia, and China is leading Asia to be better," Altaf Hossain Choudhury, president of the Bangladesh-China Cultural, Economic and Mass Communication Center, told Xinhua on the sidelines of the 9th China-South Asia Friendship Organizations Forum held in the Maldives from Thursday to Friday.

Indrananda Abeysekera, president of the Association for Sri Lanka-China Social and Cultural Cooperation, emphasized the role of cultural and educational exchanges. "People-to-people engagement is at the heart of any long-lasting bilateral relationship," he said.

Abeysekera, who has devoted 38 years to promoting bilateral ties with China, expressed admiration for many qualities of the Chinese people, including discipline, careful planning and diligence, which he believes are worth learning from.

Syed Kashif Haider Qutub, general secretary of the All Pakistan China Friendship Association, echoed the importance of cultural exchange.

He showed a photo of a Pakistani artist holding a calligraphy inscribed in both Chinese seal script and Urdu to celebrate bilateral friendship. "We focus on the intangible assets, and this is a symbol of what our association aims to do: to learn, to share and to grow in a peaceful and respectful manner for the next generations," said Qutub.

"There is so much to learn from China," Mohamed Rasheed, president of the China Maldives Cultural Association, which hosted the forum, told Xinhua.

He noted that the association, established a decade ago, has sent more than 250 Maldivian youths to China for cultural exchanges and long-term studies, and will continue fostering people-to-people ties and encouraging young people to embrace diversity and harmony.

Highlighting his country's diverse offerings, Anoop Ranjan Bhattarai, chairman of the Nepal-China Executives Council, said the council leverages shared Buddhist ties to deepen people-to-people exchanges with China.

From snow-capped mountains and forest parks to the birthplace of the Buddha, as well as rafting, trekking and wildlife experiences featuring elephants and rhinos, "We warmly welcome Chinese friends to visit my homeland, which will further advance cultural and economic exchanges between our two countries," he said.

V. Bhaskaran, the 84-year-old president of the India-China Friendship Association (National), presented a copy of India-China People's View, a magazine he edits documenting bilateral friendship.

Since its founding in 1950, the association has witnessed the ups and downs of bilateral relations. "But we have always advocated, through a people-to-people approach, for restoring normalcy between the governments," he said, adding that promoting medical teams and scientific exchanges remains central to strengthening grassroots understanding.

Experts also lauded the win-win nature of cooperation with China and its benefits to the world.

Collaboration with China follows a new logic -- "win-win, not by cheating, not by forcing, not by grazing," noted Choudhury.

Mohammed Waheed Hassan, special envoy of the Maldivian president and former president of the Maldives, said the forum's first-ever convening in the Maldives provides "an important opportunity to share our expectations and hopes for closer cooperation with China."

"The combined population of South Asian countries and China accounts for more than one-third of the global total," he said. "So if we can achieve greater cooperation and uphold peace for progress, the whole world will stand to benefit." ■