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China-proposed initiative on global civilisation hailed

Xi says people are best placed to choose modernisation that suits them. Cao Desheng reports

Leaders of political parties and organisations from around the world have hailed the China proposed Global Civilisation Initiative, saying that it has great relevance, together with the Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative, to building consensus among countries on addressing mounting global challenges in terms of peace, security, development and harmonious co-existence. Their comments came as Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, unveiled the Global Civilisation Initiative on March 15 at the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting. The meeting’s theme was “Path Towards Modernisation: the Responsibility of Political Parties”.

The initiative calls for respect for the diversity of civilisations, upholding the common values of humanity in pursuing peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, and promoting robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.

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

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is also the president of the African National Congress, the ruling party of South Africa, said that he fully agrees with Xi’s initiative. The history of South Africa in its struggle for national independence makes its people value the importance of unity, harmony, inclusiveness and mutual respect, he said.

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

He also said that South Africa appreciates China’s foreign policy based on non-interference 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. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, also president of the Serbian Progressive Party, said that the world expects China to provide innovative solutions to coping with challenges amid the complex changes of the international landscape.

Vucic said humanity should work together to advocate the diversity of cultures and civilisations. The Serbian president also said, echoing Xi’s speech on March 15, that nations should uphold the principles of equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness and should, as Xi said, “let cultural exchanges transcend estrangement, mutual learning transcend clashes, and inclusiveness transcend any sense of superiority”.

In his speech, Xi, who is also the Chinese president and 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.

At a time when geopolitical competition has brought about crises and challenges, Xi’s initiatives regarding development, security and civilisation are very significant to international and regional peace and cooperation, said Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene, who is also chairman of the Mongolian People’s Party.

He added that Mongolia fully supports the initiatives, and mutual trust, dialogue and cooperation are common aspirations of humanity and represent the future of the world. South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir, who is also chairman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, criticised a number of countries’ reluctance 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 diverse cultures, and oppose ideological confrontations in various forms, Kiir said.

Xi also elaborated on Chinese modernisation in his speech. “We must uphold the principle of independence and explore diversified paths towards modernisation,” he said.

It is the people of a country that are in the best position to say what kind of modernisation best suits them, Xi said, adding that developing countries have the right and ability to independently explore a modernisation path with distinctive features based on their national realities.

Nations should let cultural exchanges transcend estrangement, mutual learning transcend clashes, and inclusiveness transcend any sense of superiority.” — XI Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.