Author: Liu Guangwei, President of Beijing Oriental Food Research Institute
In the process of "One Belt, One Road" taking root, food plays an important role. It is a seven-color rainbow that can link history, future, tourism, economy, trade, diplomacy and culture. At the same time, it has five functions: promoting consumption, employment, import and export, friendship and people’s hearts.
The "Belt and Road" needs food to lead the way.The construction of the "Belt and Road" advocates that different nationalities and cultures should "communicate and communicate" and everyone should be good neighbors who live in harmony together. Good neighbors can’t live without food, the messenger of friendship. In the international cultural exchange, the culture with affinity always comes first, and food just has this attribute. It not only has cultural affinity, but also has strong appeal. Food can go straight to people’s hearts, and it can bring pleasure, health and happiness to the 2 billion people along the Belt and Road.
Food leads the way, and the connection has a long history.China used to have two Silk Roads, one on the sea and the other on the land. Besides silk and porcelain, food has always been an important part of communication on the Silk Road. Zhang Qian’s access to the western regions has brought pepper, peas, carrots and other ingredients to China; In the Ming Dynasty, when border trade flourished, China introduced some crops such as pepper, sweet potato and pumpkin. Nowadays, these imported food ingredients have had an important impact on China’s crop planting structure and food culture. At the same time, tea, wheat and other foods coming out of China are also influencing countries along the route silently, filling their dining tables and food culture. More than 80,000 Chinese restaurants along the "Belt and Road" are blooming everywhere and are loved by the people of the host country.
Food leads the way, connects the future and leads to peace.Food is a lubricant for international communication and an affinity agent to promote the communication between the people. The penetrating power of food can often reach the people’s hearts. In recent years, many countries have devoted themselves to exporting their own ideology and culture to the outside world, and made many attempts to this end, but the results are not satisfactory, because it takes a long time for any nation to fully accept the introduction of foreign ideology. However, food is different. Because of its trade, culture and affinity, it is difficult for people to contradict it. Therefore, the food exchange between countries can be accepted by people subtly, and it will further exert a role and influence on the local economy and culture. Whether in history or in the future, food has played a vital vanguard role in international communication.
Food leads the way, and tourism drives consumption.There are six elements in tourism, namely, eating, living, traveling, traveling, shopping and entertainment. Obviously, as an important part, "eating" is put in the first place. Eating is not only a major element of tourism, but also a major resource of tourism. The reason is not only that three meals a day are indispensable, but also that "eating" is a gourmet trip, which has become a major purpose for a considerable number of travel enthusiasts, especially young people. Local cuisine has both natural resources and human resources. China’s eight major cuisines are leading the way, and a variety of exotic cuisines can also make people linger. Food has a strong attraction for tourists. Some people have concluded that tourism is "half the beauty and half the food".
Food leads the way, linking the economy and driving employment.Food and its corresponding catering industry are of great significance to the development of the city, one of which is its contribution to employment. As a labor-intensive industry, the catering industry with food as its core has the characteristics of strong demand, many jobs, low starting point and strong inclusiveness, so it has made great contributions to employment projects in various places. Food bears a huge employment group, which plays a great role in resettling the labor force, improving the social employment rate and maintaining social stability.
Food leads the way, linking trade to drive import and export.Food trade is an important part of international economic trade. The trade in food not only enriches the dining tables of the people of all countries along the route, but also drives the import and export, bringing tangible economic benefits to all countries. According to relevant data, in the first half of 2016, China’s grain imports reached 56.64 million tons. The American Food Industry Association predicts that the imported food market in China will reach 480 billion yuan by 2018. From the data of China’s food import and export trade, we can see that food trade accounts for a large proportion and scale in the trade of countries along the route.
Food leads the way, and diplomacy drives friendship.We have great cultural differences with countries along the Belt and Road, so food diplomacy is a very good choice to find a common cultural breakthrough. Besides enhancing friendship, food also plays an important role in resolving deadlock and increasing topics in diplomacy. In 1971, U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger secretly visited China and met with Premier Zhou Enlai to discuss President Nixon’s visit to China. When the negotiations reached a deadlock, Premier Zhou treated Kissinger with Beijing Roast Duck, sweeping away the tense atmosphere of the talks before dinner. Beijing roast duck also gained a famous name — — "Diplomatic artifact". Nowadays, the influence of food on diplomacy has not only stayed at the national level, but also gradually penetrated into ordinary people.
Food leads the way, connecting culture drives people’s hearts to connect.In the "Five Links", the main content of the "Belt and Road" construction, the connection between people’s hearts is the social and public opinion foundation of other "four links", and food plays a very important role in the connection between people’s hearts. Food has no borders, and its taste resonates. The affinity and appeal of food are beyond the reach of other cultural products. Countries along the "Belt and Road" have different regimes, nationalities and cultures. In such a diverse and different situation, food is undoubtedly the best affinity agent and lubricant. Chinese food has become the most widely accepted China culture in the world, and the number of Chinese restaurants overseas has now grown to 300,000. At the same time, food cultures from all over the world have also entered China, such as bread, biscuits, hamburgers, pizza … … Has become the daily diet of China people.
The influence and function of food in international communication is immeasurable. It not only connects countries, but also connects everyone. Food culture will surely become an indispensable soft power in the construction of the "Belt and Road".