First, it was the martial arts. Now comes the music.
The Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) promotes the country’s music along with its traditional stringed instruments to Americans in a project dubbed "Qin Tai."
When U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong met in Washington on Nov. 21, 2013, for the fourth annual U.S.-China Consultation on People-to-People Exchange (CPE), they discussed how to strengthen diplomatic bond.
According to the fact sheet prepared by the Office of the Spokesperson of the U.S. Department of State, the CPE is set “to enhance and strengthen ties between the citizens of the United States and the People’s Republic of China in the areas of culture, education, science and technology, sports, and women’s issues.”
From such a noble aim that CPAFFC came up with "Qin Tai." The CPAFFC is under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Plainly translated as “the table of Chinese traditional stringed instruments,” "Qin Tai" involves tours in the U.S. Chinese musicians perform live using the country's traditional instruments.
Global investment banking firm Goldman Sachs is one of the companies that is in partnership with the U.S. government in helping China introduce its culture to the American people.
On Sept. 27, 2013, a dozen soloists from the China National Symphony Orchestra played traditional Chinese instruments alongside the members of the North Carolina International Orchestra at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in Maryland. It was organized by China’s Ministry of Culture and sponsored by Goldman Sachs.
Three more concerts followed in the same year all in North Carolina, entitled “Trans-Pacific Melodies: An East Meets West Concert.” They performed on Oct. 1 at Pinecrest High School’s Robert E. Lee Auditorium in Moore County, on Oct. 5 at the Halton Theater in Charlotte and on Oct. 6 at Meymandi Concert Hall in Raleigh.
The China National Symphony Orchestra presented their own rendition of Katy Perry’s “Roar” using traditional instruments when she was in Beijing for the 2014 Infiniti China Brand Festival. The best-selling pop star watched it live and was moved to tears.
On May 8, 2015, members of China’s national orchestra played traditional Chinese music at the headquarters of Goldman Sachs in New York. The same group also had a performance last month at the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Georgia.
The group used bamboo flutes and traditional stringed instruments, such as pipa, erhu and guzheng.
The Ansai Waist Drum and Luochuan Yangko Dance Team from Shaanxi Province performed in Disneyland California on Feb. 21. The group was composed of 20 students aged 9-11.
The performance was made possible through the sponsorship of Walt Disney Company in support to CPAFFC’s Rainbow Bridge Project. Former project specialist for Rainbow Bridge, Wang Hefei, said that it “aims to build a bridge between MNCs and Chinese old revolutionary areas.”
CPAFFC is busy making China be seen and heard in a lot of ways.