From Xi’an, China’s ancient capital at the foot of the Qinling Mountains, to Lisbon, the European city on the continent’s western edge; from the coastal city Xiamen in southeastern China to the Port of San Antonio across the Pacific: the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is connecting countries across the globe, where people with different skin colors and speaking different languages proudly nurture their cultures.

Living in a world of different civilisations, beliefs and customs, should we progress alone or together? And should we stay behind close doors or embrace one another? China’s answer is clear: Build a bridge of interaction and mutual learning, and make the BRI a road connecting different civilisations.

A new approach to civilisation

The BRI was put forward by China in 2013. Recognising diversity as a basic feature of the world, BRI’s concept of “mutual learning among civilizations” calls for treating all civilizations in an equal and inclusive manner, respecting the systems and beliefs of all countries, and promoting understanding and trust among different civilisations. Rejecting the outdated Cold War mentality, it represents a big step forward in humanity’s approach to civilisation, and is garnering growing support globally.

A platform for intercivilisation dialogue

Over the past decade, Belt and Road partner countries have carried out diverse people-to-people exchanges and cooperation, which have become bridges for mutual cultural appreciation. Initiatives such as the Silk Road International League of Theaters, the International Alliance of Museums of the Silk Road, the Silk Road International Arts Festival, the Silk Road International Library Alliance and the Silk Road International Gallery Alliance had attracted close to 100 countries and international organisations by the end of 2022. Luban Workshop, a vocational training program, is today being conducted in more than 20 Asian, African and European countries to help cultivate a pool of high-caliber technical personnel for the local community. Chinese and foreign archaeologists are working together to explore the cultural relics of the ancient Silk Road and renew the exchanges along the Silk Road with modern-day cultural interactions. The BRI has built a platform for dialogue among civilizations, where the flowers of different civilisations bloom and shine together.

For a better world: contribution of the Chinese civilisation

Our world is going through profound changes of a magnitude unseen in a century. China, while actively advocating dialogue among civilisations, is committed to contributing the energy of the Chinese civilisation to the world, in an effort to put the concept of “mutual learning among civilisations” into practice, and add new content to the BRI. China’s endeavour to further the country’s development along the Chinese path to modernisation and create a new form of human advancement sends a strong message—modernisation does not mean Westernisation, and each civilisation is valuable for being uniquely its own. This strengthens the confidence of different civilisations to shine together and complement each other. China has put forward the Global Civilisation Initiative that calls for respecting the diversity of world civilisations, championing the common values of humanity, promoting the inheritance and innovation of civilisations, and enhancing international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation. The aim is to open up new prospects in cultural interaction and people-to-people bonds among all countries, and contribute more to the progress of human civilisation.

As once-in-a-century changes continue to unfold globally, humanity is confronted with multiple challenges and crises. The resurgence of anachronistic mentalities trumpeting the superiority of certain civilisations and clash of civilisations is posing a serious threat to world peace, stability, development and progress. At a time when all countries are interconnected with a shared future, inclusiveness, co-existence, interaction and mutual learning among civilisations play an irreplaceable role in advancing the modernisation of human society and diverse human civilisations. By working together to build the Belt and Road into a road connecting different civilisations, we people of countries around the world will be able to join force and tackle all kinds of risks and challenges together.