Officials, experts say China highly committed to cultural exchanges, call for more respect and sharing among civilizations

BEIJING, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- China has a great tradition of respecting and embracing other civilizations, and has been highly committed to promoting people-to-people and cultural exchanges between different countries, officials and experts have said.

Attending the two-day 2023 Beijing Culture Forum that concluded here on Friday, they have also emphasized the urgency to advance dialogue and sharing among civilizations in this world of turbulence.

What today's world needs is "not leadership in the old Western colonial sense of leading by dictating other people on how they should behave or by coercing them into doing what they want, but leadership that respects other parties," said David Ferguson, honorary chief English editor of Foreign Languages Press.

"And that is a feature of China's international diplomacy. It has always insisted (that) all countries, no matter how strong or how weak, no matter how powerful, how large or small, should have an equal voice," said Ferguson, who received China's Orchid Awards earlier in September for facilitating cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world.

"What is very much needed at the moment is a form of leadership that is based on that mutual respect, based on the understanding that every country should have an equal voice, that every country is of equal importance, and behind that that every civilization has strength and is a valid civilization," he added.

Recalling her visit to China recently, Tamara Rastovac Siamashvili, chairperson of the Executive Board of UNESCO, said she "was impressed by the unprecedented investment and high-level commitment (of China) that is being deployed in the field of culture, among many other domains."

Calling the forum "timely and important," she called for "stronger cooperation and occasions of mutual learning, including in the area of culture."

"Culture is the foundation of our societies. It nurtures our mind and souls regardless of our background, origin or status. As such, culture is a global common good that deserves our full consideration for the benefits it brings to people's lives," she said.

"We can not work alone. We need to mobilize our partners, especially if our ambition is to meet global challenges," she added.

China has been promoting cultural exchanges with a basis of equality and mutual benefits, and has shown much respect for other cultures, said Egyptian Culture Minister Nevien El Kilany.

"We appreciate China's unremitting efforts in promoting the Belt and Road Initiative, which has opened a new chapter for cultural exchanges between Egypt and China, as well as among countries worldwide," she said.

Throughout history, exchanges between China and the Middle East, for example via the ancient Silk Road, were "founded on mutual respect, interaction and human sharing that have even strengthened the bonds of humanity," said Jordanian Ambassador to China Hussam Al Husseini.

"It is important we acknowledge and recognize the contribution of each civilization to humanity," he said.

"History tells us that many nations vanished while facing similar challenges, but it also tells the stories of our survival, when we worked together. And our human race needs more than just togetherness in times of crises. We need to enhance our dialogue, so together we can explore ways to face our future challenges," he added.

For centuries, Western countries have been holding the wrong belief that their cultures were better than and superior to others, noted Christine Cayol, vice-president of the Sino-French Cultural Forum.

"The right way is to reexamine our own culture and find our own problems by learning from other cultures, instead of engaging ourselves in judging which culture is superior," she said.

Noting that dialogue among civilizations is key to mutual understanding, Cayol said "culture has nothing to do with controlling, but rather with sharing feelings and emotions."

"Against the backdrop of climate change, geopolitical divisions and other global challenges, we should not just call for cultural cooperation, but emerge ourselves in concrete actions for closer cooperation," said David Gosset, a sinologist and initiator of the China-Europe-America Global Initiative, adding that the priority lies in "avoiding prejudice."