BEIJING: President Xi Jinping’s congratulatory letter to the Global Civilizations Dialogue Ministerial Meeting has received widespread positive responses from international experts, who commended China’s commitment to dialogue, mutual respect and cross-cultural cooperation as a constructive approach to addressing global fragmentation.
Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said in the letter that China will work with other countries to champion equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness among civilizations, and will implement the Global Civilization Initiative, in a bid to provide fresh impetus for advancing human civilizations and promoting world peace and development. Christopher Bovis, a professor of international business law at the University of Hull in the United Kingdom, said the letter’s message is “timely and impactful”, particularly amid current geopolitical tensions.
He pointed out that as the world is facing conflicts from the Middle East to Ukraine and economic turbulence is stemming from protectionist trade measures, President Xi’s emphasis on diplomacy over confrontation is both principled and pragmatic.
“China prioritizes resolution of conflict via peaceful and diplomatic ways, avoiding conflict and warfare which bring on lasting disruption in life and economic relations,” he said. Lawrence Loh, director of the Center for Governance and Sustainability at the National University of Singapore, also highlighted the unity of humanity cited in the letter.
“President Xi has identified a critical priority for fostering global unity at a time when the world is increasingly fractured and fragile. Now more than ever, nations must look beyond narrow self-interest and work toward cultivating harmonious international relations,” Loh said.
“The most urgent challenge today is to build a robust global economy grounded in free trade and multilateralism, which will enhance the well-being of people worldwide, especially in developing countries,” he added.
Tahir Farooq, editor-in-chief at Daily Ittehad Media Group and Pakistan Economic Net, said that Xi’s initiative offers much-needed wisdom and stability in an era of divisions, ideological confrontations and geopolitical rivalries. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
“By emphasizing equality, mutual learning and inclusiveness, President Xi charts a constructive path forward, rejecting the politics of division and embracing the shared heritage of human civilizations,” he said.
Dennis Munene, executive director of the China-Africa Center at the Africa Policy Institute in Nairobi, Kenya, described the letter as “a clarion call to humanity”.
Munene said that Xi “positions dialogue among civilizations as an antidote to the destructive theories like the ‘clash of civilizations’ or the Thucydides trap”, which refers to a phenomenon whereby a rising power can cause fear in an established power that escalates toward war.
“China’s approach, emphasizing equality, dialogue and inclusiveness, encourages the world to recognize different development paths and forms of democracy. It’s about building trust and solving shared challenges such as poverty, disease and climate change through inclusive dialogue,” he said.
Russel Harland, deputy branch secretary and international relations officer of the Surrey County branch of UNISON, one of the UK’s largest trade unions, said the Global Civilization Initiative, which was proposed by Xi in 2023, offers a way to solve the problems the world is facing today.
“With the West now in moral free fall, (the GCI) offers a radiating light out of the dark path that the world has plummeted into. China’s peaceful development has shown another way is possible,” he said.
