Global Civilization Initiative cheered

Xi’s proposal offers path to harmony, highly relevant for world, say national leaders and experts

The Global Civilization Initiative (GCI) proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping is regarded as not only highly relevant in today’s uncertain, challenging world, but also critical to the pursuit of common peace, development and harmonious coexistence, according to leaders of political parties and experts.

Together with the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and Global Security Initiative (GSI), the GCI can help build up countries’ consensus in addressing global problems, they said.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, proposed the GCI at the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting on March 15 via video link. He called for all civilizations to thrive on diversified paths toward modernization.

The GCI advocates respect for the diversity of civilizations; upholding the common values of humanity; the importance of inheritance and innovation of civilizations; and international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.

In his speech, Xi, who is also chairman of the Central Military Commission, underlined the need for all countries to refrain from imposing their own values or models on others, and from stoking ideological confrontation.

“Together we can make the garden of world civilizations colorful and vibrant,” Xi told representatives of more than 500 political parties and organizations from more than 150 countries.

Political leaders who took part in the virtual meeting spoke positively about Xi’s initiative and expressed their willingness to work with the CPC to play a guiding role in promoting exchanges and mutual learning of civilizations, and pursuing a path toward modernization based on their own national contexts.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that he fully agrees with Xi’s initiative.

The history of South Africa in struggling for national independence makes its people value unity, harmony, inclusiveness and mutual respect, said Ramaphosa, who is also head of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress.

The initiative is particularly important considering the destructive challenges that the world is facing, such as climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, terrorism and geopolitical confrontation, he added.

Ramaphosa said that South Africa appreciates China’s foreign policy based on noninterference in domestic affairs and mutually beneficial cooperation, which are reflected in China’s global initiatives and are crucial to promoting the collective growth of developing countries.

According to Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain OyunErdene, Xi’s initiatives regarding development, security and civilization are very significant for international and regional peace and cooperation.

The chairman of the Mongolian People’s Party added that his country fully supports the initiatives, noting that mutual trust, dialogue and cooperation are common aspirations of humanity and represent the future of the world.

Oyun-Erdene called on political parties to play a positive role in promoting dialogue to resolve differences, deepen mutual trust and strengthen cooperation.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro pointed out that there is no universal model for modernization that applies to all countries.

Some countries attempt to impose their own models on others in disregard of national differences in political, cultural and historical contexts, said the chairman of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela.

Maduro added that the era of hegemonism has ended, and the people of each country have the right to choose their own path for development and modernization.

The world, said Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, is expecting China to provide innovative solutions to cope with challenges amid the complex changes in the international landscape.

Humanity should work together to advocate the diversity of cultures and civilizations, said Vucic, who is also president of the Serbian Progressive Party,

Echoing Xi’s March 15 speech, Vucic said that nations should uphold the principles of equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness and should, as Xi had said, “let cultural exchanges transcend estrangement, mutual learning transcend clashes,

and inclusiveness transcend any sense of superiority”.

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir noted that some countries are reluctant to build an equitable and balanced global governance system. These nations are eager to instigate geopolitical competition, resulting in complex global security threats, he said.

Given the current international landscape, leaders of political parties need to carry forward the common values of humanity, advocate respect for various development paths and diversified cultures, and oppose ideological confrontations in various forms, said Kiir, who is also chairman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement.

Munshi Faiz Ahmad, a former Bangladeshi ambassador to China and a former chairman of the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies, said Xi’s GCI closely matches the South Asian nation’s own outlook.

Bangladesh focuses on friendship and peace, avoiding confrontation and conflict, and working together for common progress and development, he said.

The GCI initiative comes at a time when interdependence of the modern world has led to more clashes among civilizations based on different traditions and outlooks, said Swaran Singh, a professor of diplomacy and disarmament at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India. This has resulted in perceived threats and even conflicts, he said.

“This makes propositions like President Xi’s Global Civilization Initiative not just timely but also a most agreeable recipe for synergizing humanity’s pursuit for peace and prosperity.”

Along with the GDI, which was

raised in 2021 and the GSI, proposed last year, Xi’s Global Civilization Initiative is expected to ignite discussions on “how a civilizational state could contribute to the making of a peaceful world order”, as countries have been repeatedly pushed toward war, added Singh, who is also a visiting professor at the University of British Columbia in Canada.

Karori Singh, emeritus fellow and former director of the South Asia Studies Center at the University of Rajasthan in India, said the GCI, which focuses on people-centric modernization, is based on the interconnected pillars of the GDI and the GSI, imbibing multilateralism, promotion of solidarity, dialogue of civilizations, recognition of inheritance and innovation.

“It, thus, is an exploration of common global development and security architecture in the ‘fragmented and fractured’ world,” Singh said.

Salman Bashir, a former Pakistani ambassador to China, commended the new initiative. “The GCI is particularly relevant in today’s world where divisions and differences are drawing lines of distinction, creating uncertainty and prejudice,” he said.

Bashir also noted that Xi “said it all” on the GCI when he said “that all civilizations were excellent”.

Lawrence Loh, director of the Centre for Governance and Sustainability, at the National University of Singapore, said Xi’s proposal for the GCI is both timely and critical.

“Precisely because of the deepening divides in the world along geopolitical and economic fault lines, countries need to urgently bridge their gaps,” Loh said. “The initiative will be a purpose-driven multilateral platform where countries can come together to forge a common future for a better world.”

For some regional observers, the CGI will help to promote the wisdom of China and other nations.

Wirun Phichaiwongphakdee, director of the Thailand-China Research Center of the Belt and Road Initiative, said: “I think the Chinese path to modernization is a real practice of respecting the diversity of civilizations, as the concept of modernization itself should not be defined by a single source, but can be explained by diversified forms in different political, cultural and historical contexts.

“China has been pursuing a development road with the insistence on openness and mutual understanding. As what President Xi had said, a single flower doesn’t make spring.”

Khalid Taimur Akram, executive director of the Pakistan Research Center for a Community with Shared Future, said the distinct feature of Xi’s GCI proposal is that his vision of modernization is not limited to China only.

“The president highlighted the importance of support of political parties that can steer and drive the process of modernization. The efforts of all the political parties can push the agenda toward development and modernization,” he said.

Akram said the GCI can ensure the importance of common values of humanity, peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom for all people.

“The holistic approach of the Global Civilization Initiative will likely explore the building of a global network for inter-civilization dialogue and cooperation, and will enrich the content of exchanges and expand paths of cooperation to encourage mutual understanding and friendship among people of all countries.”

Echoing Xi’s speech that nations should uphold the principles of equality and mutual learning, Chaiyasit Tantayakul, adviser to the Horticultural Science Society of Thailand, said that all nations should advocate respect for various development paths and diversified cultures, and oppose ideological confrontations in various forms.

“Over the past years, China has kept pursuing peaceful development and mutually beneficial cooperation, which are illustrated in China’s Global Civilization Initiative, and are crucial to promoting the collective growth of developing countries,” he said.

Shakeel Ahmad Ramay, chief executive of the Asian Institute of Eco-civilization Research and Development, in Islamabad, Pakistan, said the GCI can help pursue the dream of sustainable security and peace, and will also help to counter the notion of the clash of civilizations

“We must believe in mutual respect, equality and dignity of each and every human and nation,” Ramay said. “For that purpose, we must promote openminded dialogue,” he said, adding that the dialogue must be “without any prejudice or self-assumed greatness”.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (right) prays in front of a statue during a ceremony held to unveil a collection of stolen Angkorian artifacts at the Peace Palace, in Phnom Penh, on March 17. The collection was recently returned to the kingdom after decades in Britain. Thousands of antiques and artifacts were stolen from Cambodia.