Global dialogue sets out action plan for cultural exchanges

The Global Civilizations Dialogue Ministerial Meeting closed in Beijing on Friday with an action plan encompassing 110 specific steps China will take to promote cultural exchanges with countries from around the world to safeguard the diversity of human civilizations for world peace and development.

The action plan includes the establishment of a global civilizations research institute and setting up a fund for promoting exchanges and mutual learning of civilizations.

The two-day milestone meeting, co-hosted by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, also adopted a Beijing declaration, highlighting that enhancing people-to-people and cultural exchanges is an effective way to eliminate estrangement and misunderstanding among civilizations and enhance cooperation in addressing global challenges.

The meeting was attended by more than 600 representatives from 140 countries and regions, including political party leaders, ministers, celebrities in the cultural and artistic sectors, and researchers from prestigious think tanks.

Different countries should be committed to equality and mutual respect, support each other in the pursuit of the development paths and models of their independent choice, and jointly uphold the diversity of civilizations, the declaration said.

The participants acknowledged in the declaration that the diversity of civilizations is a distinctive feature of the world, and they called for concerted efforts to promote dialogue and exchanges among different civilizations and foster inclusiveness, mutual learning and harmonious coexistence among various cultures.

They recognized the complex challenges human civilizations face today, including the transformation and turbulence of the international landscape, geopolitical tensions and confrontations, the rise of unilateralism and protectionism, widening technological, digital and intelligence gaps, and the climate crisis.

Given the situation, countries should jointly uphold the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, establish a perspective of civilization based on equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness, and pursue values such as peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom, they said.

The declaration highlighted the participants' commitment to jointly promoting the inheritance and innovation of civilizations, strengthening exchanges and cooperation in the field of cultural heritage protection, safeguarding the accomplishments of human civilizations, and promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional cultures in various countries.

While addressing the forum "Inter-Civilization Exchanges and Mutual Learning: Building an Inclusive World", part of the ministerial meeting, on Friday, Liu Jianchao, minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, said that as one of the largest ruling political parties in the world, the CPC is willing to work with the international community, including political parties of various countries, to implement the Global Civilization Initiative as well as the outcomes of this ministerial meeting.

Damjan Jovic, state secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, said that in the face of complex geopolitical competitions and the mounting global challenges, it is important for countries to embrace the diversity of civilizations, establish relationships based on mutual understanding and mutual respect, and enhance cooperation to achieve lasting prosperity and development.

Jose Luis Centella, president of the Communist Party of Spain, said that building a multipolar international system is the foundation for advancing the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

"We must adhere to the belief that one civilization is not superior or inferior to the other. With conflicts erupting in multiple regions globally, safeguarding peace is more crucial than ever before," he said. "As the challenges we face are complex, we should work together to promote multilateralism and oppose hegemony and power politics."

Yermukhamet Yertysbayev, chairman of the People's Party of Kazakhstan, commended the Belt and Road Initiative, saying that the initiative is not only an economic corridor promoting the well-being of the people of participating countries, but also a bridge linking various civilizations.

"China sets a good model for the world in respecting the diversity of civilizations," he said.