Int'l forum on Xinjiang's history, future held in Kashgar

URUMQI, June 12 (Xinhua) -- The International Forum on the History and Future of Xinjiang, China was held on Wednesday in Kashgar, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, aiming to promote research on Xinjiang's cultural unity in diversity, and to deepen cross-cultural exchange and learning between China and the world.

Pan Yue, director of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, delivered remarks at the forum's opening ceremony. He urged efforts to study Xinjiang based on the history of the community of the Chinese nation, and based on the pluralistic and integrated pattern of the Chinese nation, so that research can fully grasp how Xinjiang's various ethnic cultures are rooted in the Chinese civilization.

Addressing the event, Erkin Tuniyaz, chairman of the regional government of Xinjiang, noted Xinjiang's past progress in the preservation and passing down of its cultural heritage. He pledged comprehensive efforts in the future to tap into the cultural values and intellectual connotations of the region's historical and cultural heritage, engage actively in international exchange and cooperation, and break new ground on that front.

Diplomatic envoys of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan also delivered remarks at the opening ceremony, praising Xinjiang's role in their countries' cooperation with China.

During a roundtable discussion of the forum, more than 100 experts and scholars from China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Australia, Egypt, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Mongolia, Russia, the United States and other countries exchanged views on such topics as Xinjiang's archaeology, history and development.

The forum was co-hosted by Minzu University of China, Peking University and Kashi University.