Confident display of culture

President Xi Jinping and China's first lady Peng Liyuan attended a state banquet in the Netherlands wearing traditional-style Chinese clothing. That has shown China's confidence in its traditional culture, says a column on Changjiang Daily. Excerpts:

By attending the state banquet in traditional clothing, Xi and Peng impressed not only the people in Amsterdam, but also the whole world. Photographs and local reports show the impact they made wearing these traditional-style outfits.

In China there used to be a quite rampant misunderstanding that linked tradition with backwardness. That has its roots in modern history, when China experienced foreign invasions and many intellectuals attributed that to China's traditional culture.

This obviously erroneous idea that tradition should be discarded is gradually being corrected and we are regaining confidence in our traditional culture with the rejuvenation of China.

Moreover, Chinese culture is being exported to the world. In the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit held in Shanghai in 2001, leaders from 20 countries and regions took a group photo in traditional Tang suits, which made it a trend for years. Qipao and many other items of Chinese traditional clothing are also recognized by increasingly more countries as a cultural symbol of China.

Clothing is a mirror that reflects a nation's attitude towards its traditional culture. Xi and Peng have displayed China's confidence in its traditional culture and we expect Chinese culture to be popular in the world.