Screenshot of the seminar Photo: Global Times

After Chinese President Xi Jinping had a successful meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. in Bangkok, Thailand on November 17, during which he called upon both sides to take more concrete steps to increase people-to-people and cultural exchanges and cement public support for China-Philippines friendship, a seminar titled "Dialogue with Generation Z, Seeing theWorld Together," which aims to spread the colorful culture through exchanges and mutual understanding between the Chinese and Filipino youth opened online on Sunday.

The senimar was organized by the Beijing People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Association for Philippines-China Understanding, with the support of China Energy Engineering Group Co. Ltd. 

During the seminar, college students, scholars and politicians from both China and the Philippines discussed the opportunities and challenges of cross-cultural communication between China and the Philippines. They agreed that the cooperation between China and the Philippines in political and economic fields provides a unique opportunity for cross-cultural exchange between the two countries, and the young people of both sides must follow the trend to further promote mutual understanding and contribute to the friendly and peaceful development of both countries in the future.

Fresh power of bilateral engagement

"As digital natives, Gen Zers were born and have grown up in the age of technology and are important participants in international communication and people-to-people exchanges. Rich in diverse topics, this activity is a communication platform personalized for the young people of China and Philippines. It will, through focusing on the common concerns and responsibilities of Asian countries in the eyes of the youth, facilitate mutual understanding between the youth of the two countries, deepening the friendship and mutual learning between the two peoples,"  Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian said in his congratulatory letter to the seminar.

Generation Z is a new and important force influencing the world today. Wu Meihong,Director of Gen-Z Creative Communication Center of Beijing Foreign Studies University noted that the Generation Z born between 1995 and 2009 is now one of the largest intergenerational groups in the world's population. This group has become an important influence in the social development of countries and in the international landscape. 

In both China and the Philippines, there are many Gen Z online influencers who have hundreds of thousands of followers. As friendly neighbors, currently, Chinese and Filipino Gen Zers are telling their own cultural stories, while gradually leading their young people to understand and appreciate other cultures, promoting two-way cultural interactions between the two countries, Wu noted.

"Whenever I upload a video or create a video for Ni Hao Manila, a project of the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines, people are almost always amazed at how different China is and how I, a Filipino, was living my life here in China. Which only shows that the videos I created are reaching the right audience," said Charmaine Paula Oliver Magbuhos, postgraduate student in Global Business Journalism at Tsinghua University.

Magbuhos has been in China for about six years. She said that since 2017, the year she arrived in China, the achievements and developments of both China and the Philippines have been numerous. So she decided to create her personal brand "CharinChina," where she shares her perspective of what China is like as a Filipino and shows Chinese people the Filipino culture. 

"As an international student in China, I feel excited to see and be a part of the changes that unfold right before my eyes," Magbuhos said.

In the Philippines, in recent years, many international student associations are also paying attention to this dynamic group, using innovative ways to organize cultural exchange activities, inviting more young people from China and the Philippines to join and enhance mutual understanding of both countries.

The Chinese Students and Scholars Association in the Philippines (CSSAP), for example, organized a series of events such as "The First Chinese-Filipino Youth Concert" in 2022 and the "2022 Philippines-China Friendship Photography Exhibition," to build more platforms for young people from China and the Philippines to get familiar with each other, said Chen Hong, Founder and President of CSSAP.

Combining the interests of Generation Z, CSSAP also showcased the diversity of Chinese and Filipino culture through various social media platforms such as Facebook, Youtube and Twitter, where the netizen's interaction reflected that Chinese and Filipino youth have a strong interest in each other's countries and a common desire for peace and a better life, Chen said.

Unity is the people's heart

"What touched me most in the process of promoting friendship between the youth of China and the Philippines was that many dignitaries in the Philippines tried to speak a few words of Chinese on many occasions, " Chen told the Global Times. "In fact, many local people in the Philippines, including some supermarket staff members and compounds' security guards, are learning Chinese as they want to communicate with Chinese people in a more friendly way," she said.

Currently, Chen hopes to attract more Filipinos from all walks of life to participate in international Chinese language education to further promote future bilateral cooperation.

Eril Yuri D. Edullan, National President of Power of Filipino Youth, a non-profit, youth organization that focuses on Filipino youth's access to learning and education, is also one of Chen's cooperative partners. Edullan hopes to work with CSSAP to promote the expansion of Chinese learning among Filipino youth.

"The Philippines has the effort to promote different understanding and knowledge about China, because it is very much important to foster an harmonious relationship with our neighbors. China's contribution to the world is huge, and the Philippines as a developing country can benefit from it," Edullan told the Global Times.

However, currently, some Western politicians and media have been trying to stir up trouble in the region and hyping the "China threat theory". Just before the ADMM-Plus, US Vice President Kamala Harris talked about "intimidation and coercion in the South China Sea" in the Philippines, but Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did not take up the thread of conversation.

The current world order is facing drastic changes. The US is still fixated on geopolitics and zero-sum game thinking, viewing China as a competitor. How to properly handle the dispute without the influence of extraterritorial powers is the key to the steady advancement of cross-cultural exchanges between China and the Philippines in the post-epidemic era, noted Jodie Wen, Postdoctoral Fellow and Research Associate at the Center for Strategic and Security Studies of Tsinghua University.

"I believe in unity and especially peace cooperation with our neighboring countries," Edullan said. 

China is the Philippines' largest trading partner, largest source of imports and second largest export market. In 2021, bilateral trade between China and the Philippines reached $82.05 billion.

The South China Sea issue is not the mainstream of the Philippines-China relationship and should not restrict or hinder bilateral cooperation. The Philippine side is willing to carry out candid communication with the Chinese side to find a friendly solution to the issue, which is the right way for the two countries to get along with each other. Only in this way can both sides achieve more results in bilateral cooperation and bring more benefits to the two peoples, Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. said when met with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in July.

"In the past, government-to-government and people-to-people cooperation and friendly exchanges between Philippines and China have been widely recognized by the people of both sides, now we are eager to open this kind of dialogue again and launch more programs that will benefit the people in both countries," Edullan said.