China's top diplomat calls for enhancing understanding via dialogue

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday called for improving understanding and fostering mutual trust through dialogue while addressing an event observing the International Day for Dialogue among Civilisations.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, called on all sides to promote unity and seek consensus through exchanges and continuously consolidate the popular and cultural foundation for building a community with a shared future for humanity in the face of unprecedented challenges.

Wang highlighted that China proposes a four-pronged approach to promoting dialogue among civilisations.

He said, firstly, that all sides should adhere to mutual respect and promote harmonious coexistence among different civilisations, calling for championing equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness among civilisations.

Secondly, all sides should abide by a people-oriented approach and lay a solid foundation for exchanges among civilisations, Wang said, adding that efforts should be made to promote mutual understanding and friendship among people of all countries and ensure that the fruits of mutual learning among civilisations benefit the people more extensively and directly.

China is willing to enhance dialogue among civilisations with all countries and deepen exchanges of experience in state governance in order to jointly solve the problems of the times and work together to broaden the path of world modernisation, Wang added.

Thirdly, Wang called for endeavours in inheritance and innovation of traditional culture to enhance the driving force of civilisation and progress, noting that China will assist all countries in achieving creative transformation and innovative development of their outstanding traditional cultures.

He also appealed for fully exploiting technological dividends such as artificial intelligence and social media to empower exchanges, mutual learning, inheritance and innovation among civilizations and promote the common prosperity of human civilization.

Wang said all sides should adhere to exchanges and mutual learning and improve the mechanism for dialogue among civilisations.

China supports further leveraging platforms, including the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the Forum of Ancient Civilisations, to enable them to play an important role in inter-civilisation dialogue, he added.

In 2024, the 78th session of the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution proposed by China and 82 other countries, designating June 10 as the International Day for Dialogue among Civilisations each year.