Initiative to give new impetus to human progress

In the process of the development of human society, civilizations have successively emerged in different forms that, after competitions and integration, evolutions and innovations, together constitute a rich and colorful graph of human civilization.

Chinese civilization, Arab civilization, Greek civilization and African civilization are all shining pearls in the long river of human civilization and have made important contributions to the progress of human civilization.

Around the end of the 5th century BC, iron tools had already begun to be used in most parts of China. In the same period, the Soninke people in the Sahel region of West Africa also began to make iron tools and use them in agricultural production. Later, empires with long civilizations like Ghana, Mali and Songhai successively arose in this area.

West African civilization once had such a brilliant and advanced period, but in modern times, due to the colonial domination of Western countries, the development of West African civilization was interrupted and gradually marginalized. Those European powers divided Africa in the 19th century and established artificial borders for Africa, thus further cutting Africa's inherent cultural and political systems.

Before Western countries began to colonize and divide Africa on a large scale, the slave trade that lasted 400 years sent a labor force to Western countries, causing Africa to lose a large amount of its population and seriously harming the creativity of African civilization. In turn, Western countries that had actively participated in the slave trade were even more convinced of the "superiority of civilization". They placed Western civilization above other civilizations and tried to impose their values and civilizations on Africa, making the continent further lose the independence of its own civilization.

The "superiority of civilization" will not increase the justification for colonizing Africa, nor will it alleviate the crimes committed in Africa by the colonizers. As President Xi Jinping said, "It is ridiculous to believe that one's ethnicity and civilization is superior to that of others, and it is terrible to deliberately transform or even replace a civilization."

In contrast to Western countries that believe their civilization is "superior", 2,500 years ago, the Chinese philosopher Confucius proposed the idea that "gentlemen seek harmony, but not uniformity", arguing that harmony promotes coexistence and joint growth, and differences complement each other.

China has always adopted an open and inclusive attitude, largely absorbing the achievements of other civilizations and providing rich nutrients for the vigorous development of Chinese civilization. Around 100 BC, China began to explore the Silk Road connecting to Western regions. At the beginning of the 15th century, the Chinese navigator Zheng He made seven westward voyages, reaching Kenya on the east coast of Africa, and this initiated the official exchange and mutual learning between Chinese and African civilizations.

Chinese civilization is formed through exchange and mutual learning with other civilizations.

Adhering to these thoughts of excellent traditional culture, on March 15, Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, proposed the Global Civilization Initiative at the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting. He called for respect for the diversity of civilizations, the common values of humanity, the importance of inheritance and innovation of civilizations and robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation, which strongly counteracts the notion of "superiority of civilization" and offers an important observation on promoting harmonious coexistence among different civilizations.

Following the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative is another global initiative presented by Xi around the great concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind, It contributes Chinese wisdom to avoiding conflicts among civilizations and promoting the progress of human civilization, further diversifies and broadens the ways to practice building a community with a shared future for mankind, and is another key public good offered by China to the international community in the new age.

Civilization does not have a uniform pattern, and no civilization can dominate the others. The diversity of civilization is a basic feature of human society, and it is also the driving force behind the progress of human civilization.

In the process of practicing the common values of mankind, China always insists on respecting the diversity and equality of civilizations and calls for exchange, inclusiveness and mutual learning among different civilizations. It also urges countries to compensate for their weaknesses with the strengths of others through competition, and achieve joint development in search of common ground, putting aside differences.

Looking at human history, we deeply realize that only if we adhere to inclusiveness and openness will human civilization continue to develop and prosper. The Chinese side welcomes African countries, including Guinea-Bissau, to support and participate in the Global Civilization Initiative, making China and Africa an exemplar of the exchange and mutual learning of civilizations, in order to broaden the path of progress of human civilization with joint efforts.

The author is China's ambassador to Guinea-Bissau. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.