Online dialogue of friendship associations of four countries with ancient civilization a success

Wang Peilin

O n June 24 the Online Dialogue of Friendship Associations of Four Countries with Ancient Civilizations was held successfully. It was initiated and hosted by the Chinese Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， with participation by China， India， Egypt and Greece.

Lin Songtian， president of the CPAFFC； George Floras， managing partner of the Belt and Road Associates in Greece； Aly El-Hefny， vice-president of the Egypt-China Friendship Association； and George Fernandes， president of the India （Maharashtra State）-China Friendship Association， attended and delivered opening remarks. Yan Dong， vice-president of the CPAFFC， read out the Joint Declaration of Friendship Associations from Four Countries with Ancient Civilizations on World Peace and Development.

About 100 participants from all walks of life in the four countries at- tended the dialogue online in a warm and friendly atmosphere， including， among others， Xu Bu， president of the China Institute of International Studies； Wang Huiyao， founder and president of the Center for China and Globalization； Jiang Jingkui， professor at the Institute for International and Area Studies， Tsinghua University； Wang Qifa， expert on Confucian culture from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences； Liu Yihong， CASS expert on Islamic civilization and philosophy； Anita Sharma， vice-chancellor of K.R. Mangalam University， India； Vikash Singh， Indian expert at Beijing Foreign Studies University； Mahitab， Egyptian expert at the Western Europe and Africa Communication Center， China Foreign Languages Administration； Mahmoud Soliman， Egyptian expert at Shanghai International Studies University； Chrisi Vitsilaki， rector of the University of the Aegean， Greece； Pella Karpathiotaki， Greek expert on international studies； and Lefteris Kontos and Philip Kontos， Greek sinologists and members of the Greece-China Association.

Participants held in-depth discussions on three themes： “Advocate Harmony through Mutual Learning”， “Uphold Justice with Ancient Wisdom”， and “Promote Peace and Development Through Friendly Exchanges”. They also shared their achievements in research on civilizations.

Participants agreed that under the current international situation， it is good for the CPAFFC to host the online dialogue， as it comes at the right time and is of special significance. The dialogue speaks for peace， justice and civilization. It advocates the right path of peaceful and civilized development， equity， justice and win-win cooperation.

Participants reached broad consensus on mutual respect， exchanges， mutual learning and common prosperity between civilizations and issued a joint declaration on world peace and development.

Xinhua News Agency， CGTV， BTV， people.cn， Xinhuanet， ThePaper. cn， Phoenix TV， Prasar Bharati， China Arab TV and other mainstream media outlets reported the event.

Participants expressed their belief that civilization is the crystallization of wisdom for human progress and the common intellectual treasure of all people. It is the spiritual bond that upholds and promotes the common values of peace， development， equity， justice， democracy and freedom for all mankind. It is also an important force that enhances world peace， harmony， development and prosperity and guides human society toward a bright future.

CPAFFC President Lin said that China， India， Egypt and Greece all boast time-honored histories and splendid civilizations that have made outstanding contributions to the development of those nations respectively and to the common progress of mankind. Chinese civilization has lasted for more than 5，000 years and developed the core values of “benevolence， people-orientation， integrity， sound reasoning， harmony， unity， diversity and integration，” he said， adding that this is the unique cultural power that has enabled the Chinese nation to overcome all kinds of difficulties and challenges and maintain strong vigor and vitality.

Lin noted that China has always advocated equality， mutual learning， dialogue and inclusiveness among civilizations， and that the Chinese nation understands the values of different civilizations with a broad mind. It respects people of different countries in exploring their own development paths.

“We eliminate estrangement through exchanges， avoid clashes through interactions and replace superiority based on pride and prejudice with coexistence among civilizations. Only in this way can we achieve common prosperity in all civilizations through exchanges and mutual learning，” Lin said.

Wang Huiyao said Chinese civilization advocates harmony between man and nature， peace among all nations， not imposing on others things one doesnt want， integrity and sincerity and the idea that the world is one family.

Jiang Jingkui said civilizations are intertwined with one another， each with its own strengths. One should respect both ones own culture and the culture of others， and learn from each other to advance human civilization for common prosperity.

“Civilization is an open road in which people live as one family，” Mahitab said. “It is a national treasure that can be embodied in the youth.”

George Fernandes noted that the Indus Valley civilization， one of the earliest known in the world， is a composite culture of inclusiveness. It holds that “the world is one family”and hopes to establish peaceful and harmonious relations between people and countries， with improving peoples lives as an important goal.

“We highly commend and congratulate China on President Xi Jinpings leadership in lifting it out of absolute poverty，” he said. “It is a great feat and an example for other countries to follow. Civilizations are enriched by mutual learning and the world moves forward through cooperation. Countries should not erect artificial barriers to exchanges and cooperation.”

Chrisi Vitsilaki said： “The Greek civilization has a long history in which integration has played a key role. We advocate dialogue among civilizations and have participated in and benefited from it. We should fully recognize and respect the diversity of civilizations， carry out extensive cooperation by means of culture and language and enhance mutual understanding， friendship and trust through constant inclusiveness. Instead of tearing down bridges or inciting conflicts， we should build bridges of exchange and cooperation for the world.”

Participants agreed that it is never civilized to follow the law of the jungle or deliberately incite ideological or camp confrontation with a zero-sum Cold War mentality or various forms of hegemonism that deprive people of their development rights and interests.

Lin noted that on the new journey of pursuing a peaceful and happy life， the people of the world are currently confronted with both the natural disaster of COVID-19 and the man-made disasters of geopolitics. He said there are countries that incite ideological confrontation and camp confrontation， seek absolute security， maximize its own interests through willful use of unilateral sanctions， and engage in saber-rattling with no moral compass.

In the face of conflict， he said， some countries stoke the flames， provide weapons to slaughter civilians and create global crises instead of facilitat- ing dialogue for peace. A country ignores its hundreds of millions of coronavirus infections and over 1 million deaths， but busies itself with agitating war and conflict overseas to make huge profits from chaos.

Such hegemonic acts have fully exposed the selfishness， greed， barbarism and bloodiness of capitalism. They are clearly not civilized actions， nor do they represent democracy or human rights， he said.

Aly El-Hefny said the RussiaUkraine crisis and the unprecedented sanctions imposed by the United States and the West have had a disastrous impact on the entire world and the global economy. They have triggered a global energy and food crisis， he said.

“We belong to a community with a shared future and will have a common future. We need to respect each other， work together in solidarity and take global actions to meet challenges and oppose violence， confrontation and bullying of any kind，” he said.

Pella Karpathiotaki said that the democracy claimed by some Western countries is not the democracy advocated by Athenian civilization but has been warped by ideology and weaponized. As a narrative tool for interfering in other countries internal affairs， it is used to slander and attack other countries with double standards over issues such as political systems and human rights， so as to suppress and contain the development of emerging countries. Such an approach has repeatedly undermined international relations and made peace and justice more fragile. It is extremely uncivilized， she said.

Participants agreed that it is the common pursuit of civilized countries to work together and to live harmoniously as one family. It is their common proposition to value not only their own culture but also the culture of others. The best way for civilized countries to get along is to have mutual respect， seek common ground while shelving differences， learn from each other， maintain exchanges and dialogue， and strive for peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. People should work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Lin noted that in the face of major changes unseen in a century， President Xi Jinping put forward the initiative of building a community with a shared future for mankind， and laid out three paths to realize this great vision. He raised the question of the times， based on Chinas fine traditional culture and successful practices in economic and social development， with the aim of achieving win-win cooperation for common development for the Chinese people and those of other countries.

First， we should uphold the common values of peace， development， equity， justice， democracy and freedom for all mankind， develop the wholeprocess peoples democracy with people at the center and foster a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect， equity， justice and winwin cooperation， he said.

Second， we should implement the Global Development Initiative and pursue high-quality development via the Belt and Road Initiative， guided by the principle of extensive consultation， joint contributions and shared benefits.

Third， we should implement the Global Security Initiative， foster new thinking on common， comprehensive， cooperative and sustainable security and work together to build a world of lasting peace and common security. This has brought new vision， illuminated new pathways and presented new choices for building a better world.

Xu Bin said： “No matter what civilization it is， if it shuts itself off for a long time， it will inevitably decline. Only through exchanges and mutual learning with other civilizations can one maintain ones vitality. As ancient civilizations， we should set an example of friendly dialogue， exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations. We should draw nourishment from each others fine cultures and seek wisdom and inspiration to tackle the current challenges in peaceful development.

“We should manifest the vitality of ancient civilizations and show the world our harmonious beauty. We should encourage exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations and promote mutual understanding， amity and integration with people of different countries. We should add new impetus to the sustainable development of an open and inclusive world of lasting peace.”

Wang Qifa called on people to inherit and carry forward the values advocated by Chinas fine traditional culture， put them into concrete practice in light of the general trend of world civilization and promote the common progress of world culture.

George Floras said： “The world is at a crossroads. As countries with splendid ancient civilizations， we should take it as our guide and speak out for the betterment of the world. The Belt and Road Initiative is a great initiative that builds a bridge of friendship and cooperation between people of all countries and promotes common development and prosperity， rather than a zero-sum game. The closer people get to each other and the closer countries cooperate， the less market there is for hegemony.”

Vikash Singh said civilizations have always influenced each other and have facilitated each others achievements. Citing China and India for example， he noted that both countries are located on the Asian continent and over the past 2，000 years the two have learned from each other， grown together and benefited from each other.

“The story of China importing Indian brown sugar and India importing Chinese white sugar still inspires China， India and the rest of the world，”he said. “It also helps eliminate misunderstandings and weakens the so-called China threat theory.”