On May 22nd, the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations drew to a conclusion. It not only exemplifies the possibility of interaction, dialogue and harmony among civilizations, but also consolidates the foundation of building an community with a shared future for both Asia and mankind as well as builds consensus on development.
Over the past week, one could not only enjoy the beauty of diverse cultures but also seek for development path of civilizations. At the Asian Cultural Carnival, the performances including the Bloom of Silk Road, Peking Opera medley “An Era of Prosperity” and Nessun Dorma highlighted the cultural feast; at the exhibition of “The Splendor of Asia-An Exhibition of Asian Civilizations”, the audience could have a close encounter with 451 artifacts from 47 Asian countries as well as two ancient countries of Greek and Egypt; at the Asian Food Festival, people could experience colourful and splendid Asian civilizations. As President Xi said in his keynote speech during the opening ceremony, diversity spurs interaction among civilizations, which in turn promotes mutual learning and their further development. Therefore, a series of interactions taking place in China in a manner that transcends national boundaries, time and space, as well as the difference between civilizations are expected to be a success story of uniting Asia and connecting the world.
Without interactions with others, the civilization will rest on its laurels and stop seeking progress. On the one hand, the world is going through a new round of major development, transformation and adjustment. On the other hand, protectionism and unilateralism are resurging. Economic globalization faces headwinds, and multilateralism and the system of free trade are under threat. History has told us that human civilization would lose its vigor and vitality if countries in the world are reduced to being self-isolated. Long-term self-isolation will cause a civilization to decline, while exchanges and mutual learning will sustain its development. We need to be broad-minded and strive to remove all barriers to cultural exchanges. We need to be inclusive and always seek nourishment from other civilizations to promote the common development of Asian civilizations through exchanges and mutual learning.
The world is full of diversity and civilizations have come in different colors. Though difference in color and language, all human civilizations have their respective strengths and no one civilization can be judged superior to another. From Envoy Zhang Qian of the Han Dynasty, who made trips to west regions in around 140 B.C., to Zheng He, the famous navigator of China's Ming Dynasty, who made seven expeditions to the Western Seas about six hundred years ago, they all demonstrated that civilizations are reciprocal, equal-footed, diversified and multi-dimensional instead of coercive, imposed, one-dimensional or one-way. Meanwhile, equality and respect will bring opportunities and generate fortunes while pride and prejudice could only result in disasters and misunderstanding. Therefore, the eyes to appreciate the beauty of all civilizations are needed to build a vying garden of civilizations.
At the same time, the speciesism on a clash of civilization with China is rising half a globe away, claiming that this is a battle with an utterly different civilization and a different ideology. It is astonishing for international community as a clash of civilizations is based on racial differences. In contrast, it is well-known to all that who is pushing forward the development of human civilizations. The successful conclusion of the Conference on Dialogues of Civilizations and vivid stories of cultural exchanges in every corner of the world proved that there is no need to worry about disputes. However, it is harmful to believe that their own civilization is superior to the others, and even replace them. A civilization can flourish only through exchanges and mutual learning with other civilizations.
The world maintains a trend of forging ahead and the dialogue of civilizations will never cease to carry on. Wish a integrated and developed Asia and a harmonious world with different civilizations.