Exchanges and Mutual Learning Among Civilizations

Promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations is China's basic stance on dealing with inter-civilizational relations. Diversity spurs exchanges among civilizations, which in turn promote mutual learning and their further development. This embodies China's new concept of civilization. 

A sign of social development and progress, civilizations also represent the ideas and values of different societies. Therefore, civilizations are naturally diverse rather than monotonous. Since the middle and late 20th century, due to drastic changes in the international situation, particularly the end of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1990s, the direction for the development of world civilizations has greatly changed. 

In the 1990s, Harvard University professor Samuel Huntington proposed the Clash of Civilizations theory, arguing that after the Cold War, the determinants of the world landscape manifested themselves in seven or eight major civilizations, namely, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Islamic, Western, Orthodox, Latin American, and possibly African civilizations. For Huntington, in the post-Cold War world, the root cause of conflict would no longer be ideological in nature but a "Clash of Civilizations."

China's new concept of civilization was created on the basis of traditional Chinese culture, particularly Hehe Culture. Its starting point and purpose are very different from those of the Clash of Civilizations theory. China champions equality, mutual learning, dialogue, and inclusiveness among civilizations. Respecting the diversity of world civilizations, China advocates that estrangement, clashes and superiority be replaced with exchanges, mutual learning and coexistence. Exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations should be deepened, so that all the people from different countries can understand each other in a friendly manner and face global challenges together. The civilization of each country and nation is deeply rooted in its soil, and has its own inherent characteristics, strengths and virtues. Great efforts should be exerted to preserve the diversity of civilizations, and enhance mutual communication, learning and reference, instead of mutual estrangement, exclusion and even displacement. Only in this way can the garden of world civilizations be full of vitality.

文明交流互鑒

文明交流互鑒，是中國處理不同文明的關系問題的基本立場。文明因多樣而交流，因交流而互鑒，因互鑒而發展，這是中國新型文明觀的集中體現。文明是社會發展進步的標志，也代表著不同社會形式的思想內涵和價值立場，從這個角度來說，文明原本就應當是多元的而非單一的。20世紀中后期以來，由于國際社會形勢的突變，尤其是美蘇冷戰局面的結束，世界文明發展的方向有了重要的改變。20世紀90年代，哈佛大學教授塞繆爾?亨廷頓（Samuel Huntington）提出文明沖突論，認為冷戰后，世界格局的決定因素表現為七大或八大文明，即中華文明、日本文明、印度文明、伊斯蘭文明、西方文明、東正教文明、拉美文明，還有可能存在的非洲文明。冷戰后的世界，沖突根源不再是意識形態，而是“文明的沖突”。

中國的新型文明觀根植于中國傳統文化，尤其是傳統和合文化，其出發點與落腳點與文明沖突論截然不同。中國倡導樹立平等、互鑒、對話、包容的文明觀，尊重世界文明多樣性，以文明交流超越文明隔閡、文明互鑒超越文明沖突、文明共存超越文明優越，深化文明交流互鑒，促進各國人民相知相親，共同應對各種全球性挑戰。每一個國家和民族的文明都扎根于本國本民族的土壤之中，都有自己的本色、長處、優點，應該維護各國各民族文明多樣性，加強相互交流、相互學習、相互借鑒，而不應該相互隔膜、相互排斥、相互取代，這樣世界文明之園才能萬紫千紅、生機盎然。