Work actively to implement the Global Civilization Initiative and jointly advance human civilizations
As countries around the world face common challenges in the course of seeking peace and development and making explorations towards modernization, the call for solidarity, collaboration and dialogue is growing stronger than ever. However, the deep-seated problems of suspicion, division and confrontation are still blocking international cooperation. Therefore, it is essential to step up inter-civilization exchanges for closer people-to-people connectivity. The Global Civilization Initiative (GCI), proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping in his keynote address, entitled “Join Hands on the Path Towards Modernization”, at the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-level Meeting on March 15 is a sincere call to the world for in-depth inter-civilization exchanges and dialogue to advance human civilizations through inclusiveness and mutual learning. This is yet another effort to contribute China’s wisdom and solutions to promoting international cooperation at a higher level.
I. The GCI epitomizes General Secretary Xi Jinping’s profound strategic vision, broad historical perspective, strong sense of responsibility for the times and deep care for humanity.
The GCI is a timely response to the urgent call of peoples around the world for stronger solidarity and collaboration to jointly deal with common challenges. In today’s world, multiple challenges and crises are intertwined. The global economic recovery remains sluggish, the development gap is widening, ecological environment is deteriorating, and the Cold War mentality is lingering. Humanity’s modernization process has once again reached a crossroads of history. To meet our common challenges, we need material means to conquer difficulties, and cultural and ethical resources to garner strength. General Secretary Xi noted that as the future of all countries are closely connected, tolerance, coexistence, exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations play an irreplaceable role in advancing humanity’s modernization process and making the garden of world civilizations flourish. Proposing the GCI at the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-level Meeting conveys China’s sincere desire to work with all countries in pursuing modernization with distinctive features of each country, and promoting global inter-civilization exchanges and mutual learning for the advancement of human civilizations.
The GCI is an earnest response to the common aspirations of countries for upholding equality, inclusiveness and diversity of world civilizations. Just as no country is superior to others, there is no such thing as inferior or superior civilization. Since ancient times, people of different regions have developed a myriad of great civilizations in the course of production and in exploiting and changing nature. They have pursued the common human values and goals of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom and promoted progress of human society. No value should be above other values. Modernization and civilization can be realized and advanced through more than one model. The illusion of self-important “universal civilization” will easily fall through. Drawing lines along ideology and values and creating divisions and confrontations will only bring disastrous results upon the world and blemish the civilizations. General Secretary Xi has elaborated on the significance of diversity for human civilizations on various occasions. He stressed that the GCI advocates, first and foremost, the respect for the diversity of civilizations and that countries need to keep an open mind in appreciating the perceptions of values by different civilizations, and refrain from imposing their own values or models on others and from stoking ideological confrontation. This demonstrates China’s inclusive vision of jointly promoting inter-civilization cooperation with all countries so as to prosper individually and together.
The GCI is a natural response to the common call of the international community for closer inter-civilization dialogue and exchanges and more vibrant cultural development. Over the course of several thousand years, the Chinese civilization has preserved its roots and constantly broken new ground by drawing inspiration and wisdom from exchanges and mutual learning with other civilizations. In turn, it has also advanced the progress of human civilization with its own development. As economic globalization unfolds, there is a growing need to modernize traditional cultures through mutual learning. In response, General Secretary Xi advocates cultural exchanges over estrangement, mutual learning over clashes and coexistence over feelings of superiority, and pushing for creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional cultures through exchanges and mutual learning. China has all along been a firm advocate and an active practitioner of inter-civilization exchanges and cooperation. The GCI is yet another living proof of our unceasing efforts to this end.
The GCI is a sincere response to the call of the times for countries
The GCI is a timely
response to the
urgent call of peoples
around the world for
stronger solidarity and
collaboration to jointly
deal with common challenges.
The Global
Development
Initiative and Global
Security Initiative put forward by China in recent years open common values of humanity, which around the world.
around the world to advance progress of civilizations and build a human community with a shared future. As General Secretary Xi rightly pointed out, in promoting the development of human society and the building of a human community with a shared future, we need a keen understanding and grasp of the origins and the substance of different civilizations so that humanity can benefit from the cream of all civilizations. The Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative put forward by China in recent years open up new possibilities for international cooperation in the field of development and security, while the GCI injects new dynamism into and builds new safeguards for global development cooperation and global security cooperation.
The three initiatives provide a powerful underpinning for the building of a human community with a shared future and embody China’s holistic thinking on fostering a world of lasting peace and prosperity.
II. The GCI is clear in logic and rich in content with the “four advocatings” making up a wellstructured system for intercivilization exchanges and sustained development of civilizations.
The GCI centers on the core tenets of “four advocatings” as follows:
— advocating the respect for the diversity of civilizations. Countries need to uphold the principles of equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness among civilizations, and let cultural exchanges transcend estrangement, mutual learning transcend clashes, and coexistence transcend feelings of superiority.
— advocating the common values of humanity. Peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom are the common aspirations of all peoples. Countries need to keep an open mind in appreciating the perceptions of values by different civilizations, and refrain from imposing their own values or models on others and from stoking ideological confrontation.
— advocating the importance of
inheritance and innovation of civilizations. Countries need to fully harness the relevance of their histories and cultures to the present times, and push for creative transformation and innovative development of their fine traditional cultures.
— advocating robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation. Countries need to explore the building of a global network for inter-civilizational dialogue and cooperation, enrich the content of exchanges and expand avenues of cooperation to promote mutual understanding and friendship among people of all countries and jointly advance the progress of human civilizations.
The “four advocatings”, with each focusing on a particular aspect, are mutually reinforcing and make up a coherent organic unity. They reveal the basic laws that underlie the exchanges among and development of civilizations and open up new prospects for cooperation of human society.
The respect for the diversity of civilizations is the prerequisite for their exchanges and development. All civilizations are rooted in their unique cultures. Each embodies the wisdom and spiritual pursuit of a country or a nation, and each has its unique value of existence. Such diversity, being an objective reality, is also an invaluable asset shared by the entire humanity. Differences among civilizations should not be viewed as a threat to one’s own civilization. Civilizations are not isolated either. It is exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations that drives their progress. Thanks to economic globalization, interactions among civilizations and cultures have become more frequent and in-depth. During his historic visit to the headquarters of UNESCO in 2014, General Secretary Xi expounded in a keynote address there his vision on civilization featuring diversity, equality and inclusiveness. As time passes by with more inter-civilization exchanges, the general secretary has enriched the vision to encompass equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness. He advocates promoting dialogues
up new possibilities
for international
cooperation in the
field of development
and security, while
the GCI injects new
dynamism into and
builds new safeguards
for global development
cooperation and global
security cooperation.
General Secretary
Xi advocates peace,
development, equity,
justice, democracy
and freedom as the
are also universally
recognized by peoples