Beijing, July 13 (Xinhua) — Title: Creating a New Landscape of Human Civilization through Dialogue among Civilizations
The Ministerial Conference on Global Civilization Dialogue was held in Beijing from July 10th to 11th. Chinese and foreign guests of different languages, skin colors, and cultural backgrounds engage in in-depth exchanges and build consensus, becoming a vivid epitome of mutual learning among civilizations. Against the backdrop of the accelerated evolution of the world’s unprecedented great changes, strengthening dialogue among civilizations and implementing the Global Civilization Initiative have become a broad consensus of the international community, gathering the forces of the times to promote human civilization progress and maintain world peace and development.
Diverse civilizations are the essence of the world. History has shown us that the prosperity of civilization and the progress of humanity are inseparable from the exchange and mutual learning of civilizations. At present, the international situation is turbulent and intertwined, and humanity stands at a new crossroads. It is urgent to transcend cultural barriers through cultural exchanges and cultural conflicts through cultural exchange and mutual learning.
Civilization exchange and mutual learning are the bond of peace. There is only a difference in skin color and language among humans, and a difference in colorful civilizations, but there is no distinction between superiority and inferiority. History has repeatedly proven that blindly emphasizing the differences and divergences between civilizations, and even attempting to resolve them through coercive means, will only cause estrangement and misunderstanding, trigger conflicts and contradictions, and undermine world peace. As long as we uphold the spirit of inclusiveness, there will be no “clash of civilizations” and we can achieve civilization harmony. At present, regional conflicts and local wars are emerging one after another, Cold War mentality and hegemonism are rampant, and the peace deficit is increasing. The international community must firmly oppose arguments such as “civilization estrangement,” “civilization conflict,” and “civilization superiority,” uphold equality and respect, enhance civilized dialogue, eliminate estrangement and prejudice, build a solid foundation of mutual trust, and ensure common security. Xing Suowan, the Cambodian editor in chief of “Contemporary World” (Cambodia edition) who participated in this conference, stated that countries around the world have different historical backgrounds and independent perspectives, with diversity and uniqueness, and should respect and treat each other equally. The Global Civilization Initiative advocates dialogue among civilizations, and the inclusive spirit contained in it is the way for countries to work together to achieve peace.
Civilization exchange and mutual learning are the driving force of development. In today’s world, opportunities and challenges coexist. On the one hand, humanity has made outstanding achievements in economy, technology, culture, and other fields. On the other hand, challenges such as weak global economic recovery and global climate change are troubling all of humanity. To tackle common challenges and move towards a better future, we need both economic and technological strength, as well as cultural and civilizational strength. Equal exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations will provide strong spiritual guidance for humanity to solve the challenges of the times and achieve common development. Enhancing dialogue among civilizations is not only beneficial for consolidating the will of all humanity, but also for gathering the wisdom and strength of different civilizations. Mutual enlightenment and sharing of achievements among different civilizations will enhance humanity’s ability to understand and transform the world, and more effectively respond to common challenges. At the same time, in a globalized world, dialogue among civilizations, exchange of ideas, and sharing of technology will promote common development among countries and work together to achieve world modernization. As former Croatian President Ivo Josipovi ć once said, only through solidarity and cooperation among different civilizations, ethnic groups, and societies can the crises and challenges faced by human society be resolved.
Civilization exchange and mutual learning are the bridge of friendship. From the Silk Road connecting different civilizations to Zheng He’s voyages to expand cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, history eloquently proves that openness promotes mutual understanding, exchanges, and deepens mutual trust. Today, there are over 200 countries and regions, and more than 2500 ethnic groups in the world. People have formed their own brilliant civilizations in production and life, coexisting and shining together, making the global village colorful and full of vitality, and also making the entire human society an inseparable community with a shared future. Through dialogue among civilizations, we can overcome differences and find resonance, which will help people of all countries get to know each other. At present, strengthening international people to people and cultural exchanges and cooperation, and continuing to promote exchanges in culture, art, sports, education and other fields will expand the channels for people from all over the world to meet, know each other, and get close to the people and enhance friendship. Maria Semenyuk, a Russian sinologist and associate professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies at Moscow University, said that cultural exchange and mutual learning can create conditions for countries to enhance mutual understanding and achieve peaceful coexistence. One important factor is to promote people to people connectivity through cultural cooperation.
China has always been an active advocate for cultural exchange and mutual learning. China adheres to the civilization concept of equality, mutual learning, dialogue, and inclusiveness, providing more choices to solve the development dilemma of human civilization and promote the coexistence and prosperity of world civilizations. From China’s solemn proposal of the Global Civilization Initiative to the world, to the unanimous adoption of China’s resolution to establish the International Day of Dialogue among Civilizations by the United Nations General Assembly, China’s ideas and plans continue to promote global civilization dialogue and advance human civilization.
China is also an active practitioner of cultural exchange and mutual learning. Hold activities such as the Asian Civilization Dialogue Conference, the high-level dialogue between the CPC and the world political parties, and build a platform for exchanges and dialogue among civilizations; Continuously expanding the visa free “circle of friends” and promoting Chinese and foreign personnel to appreciate the charm of different civilizations in exchange and communication; Holding a Chinese and foreign tourism year, cultural festival, youth art festival, setting up Confucius Institutes and Luban workshops, and building bridges of people to people communication… “China’s open attitude and practical exploration in promoting mutual learning of civilizations in recent years have provided important examples for the world,” said Prokopis Pavlopoulos, former Greek president.
Civilization becomes colorful through communication and develops through mutual learning. Civilization exchange and mutual learning are important driving forces for promoting human civilization progress and world peace and development. We look forward to the international community taking this Ministerial Conference on Global Dialogue of Civilizations as an opportunity to continue to engage in multi-level and multi domain dialogue of civilizations, further enrich the content of exchanges, expand cooperation channels, improve mechanisms and platforms, explore the construction of a global network for dialogue and cooperation of civilizations, stimulate inexhaustible momentum for civilization progress, and jointly paint a new picture of human civilization.