Exchange and Mutual Learning between Civilizations

"Civilizations have come in different colors, and this diversity has made exchange and mutual learning among civilizations relevant and valuable," said President Xi. Contrasting histories, national conditions, and customs globally have birthed different civilizations, each possessing unique charm and heritage of unmatched depth. China considers all civilizations equal and has modestly sought to understand other civilizations. President Xi once illustrated the diversity with a metaphor: "The Chinese people are fond of tea and Belgians love beer. To me, the moderate tea drinker and passionate beer lover represent two ways of understanding life and knowing the world, and I find them equally rewarding. When good friends get together, they may want to drink to their hearts' content to show their friendship. They may also choose to sit down quietly and drink tea while chatting about their lives."

Diversity of civilizations demands exchange and mutual learning among them because they are essential to development. Through exchange and learning, the Chinese civilization continues to draw on the strengths of others and grow stronger. While embracing diversity, China has presented basic principles for exchange and mutual learning among civilizations that advocate different civilizations learning from each other and making progress together — to utilize exchange among civilizations as a source of inspiration for advancing all of human society and bonds that maintain world peace.

文明交流互鑒

習近平指出：“文明是多彩的，人類文明因多樣才有交流互鑒的價值。”世界基于不同歷史、國情、習俗等因素孕育出不同文明，各有獨特魅力和深厚底蘊，中國始終秉持平等、謙虛的態度了解各種文明的真諦。習近平曾做過這樣一個比喻：“正如中國人喜歡茶而比利時人喜愛啤酒一樣，茶的含蓄內斂和酒的熱烈奔放代表了品味生命、解讀世界的兩種不同方式。但是，茶和酒并不是不可兼容的，既可以酒逢知己千杯少，也可以品茶品味品人生。”

文明的多樣性決定了文明交流互鑒的必然性。交流互鑒是文明發展的本質要求。中華文明正是在同世界文明的交流互鑒中不斷博采眾長，發展壯大。在承認世界文明多樣性的基礎上，中國提出了文明交流互鑒的基本原則，倡導不同文明要取長補短、共同進步，讓文明交流互鑒成為推動人類社會進步的動力、維護世界和平的紐帶。