letters

I am director of the International Integration Foundation at Kazakhstans representative office in Xian. My colleagues and I are responsible for giving information and policy consultations to businessmen from both Kazakhstan and China. I read the article “China-Kazakhstan Apple Friendship Parks Flourish” in the March issue of your magazine. As my work entails frequent trips between China and Kazakhstan， I have personally witnessed the huge potential for cooperation between China and Central Asian countries. The latter need Chinas advanced agricultural technologies to grow arid and semi-arid crops in drought-stricken areas. Chinese tourists travel globally nowadays， but people seem unaware that Central Asian countries have vast territories， abundant natural resources， and splendid cultural heritage along the ancient Silk Road. This region is a cornucopia awaiting discovery！ I advise your magazine to publish more reports on cultural and people-to-people exchanges between our two nations. There are bound to be some amusing stories to tell！

He Cheng

China

I am an overseas student from the Netherlands studying in China. I particularly enjoyed the article in the China Today April issue entitled “The Globalization Pace of Confucius Institutes.” The double-spread picture of students from the Confucius Institute at University College Dublin riding bikes on the ancient city wall of Xian is so cool！ Chinas Confucius Institutes have been established in many European countries， and foreigners are fascinated by Chinese culture. In 2016， Europes first Putonghua Training and Testing Center was set up in the Groningen Confucius Institute in the Netherlands. While studying in China I still hear the latest news from friends in my hometown. I know from reading your report that Confucius Institutes have achieved comprehensive coverage of all age groups in Ireland. I am happy to see that more and more Europeans are falling in love with Chinese culture. Here， I would like to make one suggestion： young people like us are interested in traditional Chinese calligraphy and painting， and are also curious about Chinese music. We would like to read more articles on Chinas modern culture and popular music. This will give your magazine greater youth appeal.

Stella

Holland