President Xi Jinping called on Tuesday for cultural dialogue between China and Italy in the new era to make contributions to cultural diversity and intercultural exchanges in the world.

Xi made the remark in a congratulatory letter sent to the opening of the China-Italy year of culture and tourism in Rome.

In his letter, Xi described China and Italy as outstanding representatives of Eastern and Western culture.

More than 2,000 years ago, the Chinese and Italian cultures, which were far apart, complemented each other thanks to the ancient Silk Road, he said, adding that the Belt and Road Initiative has refreshed their millennia-old friendly exchanges.

Noting that both China and Italy enjoy rich cultural and tourism resources, Xi expressed the hope that people in the two countries' cultural and tourism sectors will jointly paint new colorful vistas of the dialogue between two old civilizations in a new era to make new contributions to cultural diversity and exchanges and mutual learning of different cultures.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella also sent a congratulatory letter to the event.

Mattarella said that Italy-China friendship has a long history, adding that the two peoples were the key players in the exchanges between different peoples in different regions along the ancient Silk Road, and they always respect and appreciate each other.

He called on both countries to have a deep understanding of the value of interdependence and mutually beneficial cooperation in the face of an increasingly complicated situation in today's world, and push for high-quality people-to-people exchanges and jointly cope with challenges in the future.

During Xi's visit to Italy in March last year, the two presidents announced that the two sides would designate 2020, which marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Italy, as the year of culture and tourism.

The two countries will hold a series of activities in the fields of performance arts, visual arts, creativity design, cultural heritage, tourism, film and television.