Chinese vice president addresses international conference to commemorate Confucius's birth

Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan poses for a group photo with representatives of guests before they attend the opening ceremony of the international conference in commemorating the 2,570th anniversary of Confucius' birth and the sixth Congress of the International Confucian Association (ICA) in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 16, 2019. Wang addressed the opening ceremony of the conference here on Saturday. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

BEIJING, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan addressed the opening ceremony of the international conference in commemorating the 2,570th anniversary of Confucius' birth and the sixth Congress of the International Confucian Association (ICA) Saturday.

Wang, on behalf of President Xi Jinping and the Chinese government, extended sincere congratulation to the opening of the conference.

The notable achievements in the past 70 years of the People's Republic of China were made through the hard work of Chinese people, drawing on the wisdom and fine elements of Chinese civilization, Wang said.

President Xi's keynote speech at the fifth ICA Congress in 2014 pointed out the direction of how to advance Confucianism and other fine elements in traditional culture as well as promote mutual learning among different civilizations, he said.

Wang called for the efforts to borrow the wisdom from traditional Chinese culture, respect other cultures across the world and enhance exchanges and mutual learning.

He also expressed the hope that the ICA will use Confucianism as a bridge to explore and improve understanding of the world and contribute to the progress of human civilization.