International Sinologists praise China-proposed global initiatives

Colin Mackerras (left), an Australian Sinologist, interacts on Sunday with Danish Sinologist Carsten Boyer Thogersen (second from left) and other attendees at the second World Conference of Sinologists in Nanping, Fujian province. More than 200 representatives from 60 countries attended the conference. (ZHANG BIN/CHINA NEWS SERVICE)

The China-proposed Global Civilization Initiative, which is rooted in the Chinese philosophy that harmony is the sum of diversity, is an invitation to various cultures across the globe to cooperate in building a better world, according to international Sinologists.

The initiative, together with the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, all proposed by President Xi Jinping, has great relevance in promoting world peace, development, and prosperity amid the turbulent changes in the international landscape, they said.

Carsten Boyer Thogersen, a Danish Sinologist and former consul-general of Denmark to Shanghai, said that in the world today, cooperation and mutual understanding are more needed than ever.

Amid mounting global challenges, China has proposed an array of global initiatives that are the continuation of ancient Chinese philosophy, he said.

Thogersen made the remarks at the second World Conference of Sinologists, which was held on Sunday in Nanping, Fujian province.

Valuable treasure

At the conference, international Sinologists hailed the value of the initiatives proposed by China. They also said that Chinese civilization serves as a valuable treasure for humanity and contributes to the development of China as well as the world.

Essam Sharaf, a former Egyptian prime minister and president of the Sharaf Foundation for Sustainable Development, said that the China-proposed global initiatives, including the Belt and Road Initiative, are carefully infused with the values of connectivity, trust, peace, and development, which are key elements in building a community with a shared future for mankind.

The BRI is a cooperation platform that aims to improve global connectivity through physical infrastructure projects and people-to-people bonding activities, and the Global Civilization Initiative aims to foster trust and respect among individuals across cultures and civilizations worldwide, Sharaf said.

The Global Security Initiative aims to resolve conflict through dialogue and consultation for peaceful resolution and to prevent returning to the Cold War era, while the Global Development Initiative presents a road map for development through a unique set of core concepts and priorities, he added.

"These initiatives guide us toward a world where everyone can enjoy a prosperous future and be part of a new world order defined by dialogue-driven international relations, globally governed by rules and genuine multilateralism," he added.

Regarding the Ukraine crisis, China, in upholding the Global Security Initiative, has jointly issued a six-point consensus with Brazil on resolving the conflict. It has also launched the group of Friends for Peace, together with other Global South countries, to promote early de-escalation and pave the way for political settlement.

Furthermore, Palestinian factions reconciled with one another in July in Beijing, marking a key step toward peace in the Middle East.

Since its introduction three years ago, the Global Development Initiative has helped make available nearly $20 billion in development funds and seen the launch of more than 1,100 projects.

When addressing the BRICS Plus leaders dialogue last week in Kazan, Russia, Xi said, "The Global Civilization Initiative I proposed is exactly for the purpose of building a garden of world civilizations in which we can share and admire the beauty of each civilization."

He added that China "will coordinate with others to form a Global South Think Tanks Alliance to promote people-to-people exchanges and experience-sharing in governance".

Right path forward

Colin Mackerras, an Australian Sinologist and honorary professor at Griffith University in Australia, said that international cooperation is the right path forward. It is China that is promoting international cooperation, while the United States and the West in general seem more willing to provoke and compete than to cooperate, he added.

"It seems to me that the idea of harmony has been adopted by the Chinese people to a very significant and substantial degree," he said.

"It is high time that the West began to take Chinese culture and ideas seriously, and abandon its assumption of superiority," Mackerras said.