News

The Global Civilization Initiative: Advocate Cultural Mutual Respect & Mutual Learning, Promote Civilization Prosperity & Progress

Published

11 months ago

19/05/2023

By H.E. Wang Lixin, Chinese Ambassador to the Maldives.

In today’s world, multiple challenges and crises are intertwined. The global economic recovery remains sluggish, the development gap keeps widening, the ecological environment is deteriorating, and the cold war mentality is lingering. Once again, the international community has reached a historical crossroads. Confronted with the questions of the world, the history and the era, President Xi Jinping put forward the Global Civilization Initiative last March after presenting the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative. Through these initiatives, China has made its own devotion to the international community to cope with the common challenges and helped build strong support for the promotion of the community with a shared future for mankind.

Since then, the Global Civilization Initiative has drawn extensive warm response from the international community which highly appreciates the great leadership and strategic vision of President Xi Jinping as the leader of a major country and believes that it is another public goods of great significance provided by China to the international community, bringing hope to the world fraught with crises and challenges.
The core concepts of the Global Civilization Initiative are to advocate the respect for the diversity of civilizations, advocate the common values of humanity, advocate the importance of inheritance and innovation of civilizations, and advocate robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.

The Global Civilization Initiative advocates that countries need to uphold the principles of equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness among civilizations, and let cultural exchanges transcend estrangement, mutual learning transcend clashes, and coexistence transcend feelings of superiority. This reflects China’s outlook on civilization in working with other countries to promote the concept that each country has its own beauty and beauties of all countries should be cherished and respected by all.

As a Chinese saying goes, “Without achieving the good of one hundred various schools, the uniqueness of one individual cannot be achieved.” Since ancient times, people of all countries have created unique and colorful cultures through their hard work. We should draw wisdom and nourishment from various civilizations and provide spiritual support and psychological consolation for the people, so as to overcome the challenges facing mankind by joint efforts.

The Global Civilization Initiative maintains that peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom are the common aspiration of all peoples. Countries need to keep an open mind in appreciating the perceptions of values by different civilizations, and refrain from imposing their own values or models on others and from stoking ideological confrontation. This shows China’s clear vision and strong determination to build a community with a shared future for mankind. Pride and prejudice are two biggest obstacles to exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations. In today’s world, all countries are closely connected and we share a common future. Conflicts can only erode achievements of human society’s development. Seeking common ground while reserving differences is the sustainable path towards world progress.

The Global Civilization Initiative calls for countries to fully harness the relevance of their histories and cultures to the present times, and push for creative transformation and innovative development of their fine traditional cultures. This shows China’s attitude to take the responsibilities as a major country to promote the progress of human civilization. With a history of 5000 years, China understands well that the historical heritage and its creative development are of vital importance to the future of a country. The secret of the continuous and flourishing development of civilization is to draw traditional wisdom, endow it with connotation of the current era and develop it creatively in practice.

The Global Civilization Initiative is aimed to explore the building of a global network for inter-civilization dialogue and cooperation, enrich the contents of exchanges and expand avenues of cooperation to promote mutual understanding and friendship among people of all countries and jointly advance the progress of human civilizations. This reflects China’s pragmatic action and open mind to share its development fruits with all people in the world. Friendship, which derives from close contacts between the people, holds the key to sound state-to-state relations. People-to-people and cultural exchanges have always been an important bridge for mutual understanding and communication between countries and peoples. Greater exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations can further enrich the colors of various civilizations and the cultural life of people, and open up even greater alternatives in the future.

As friendly neighbors in Asia, both China and the Maldives belong to the centuries-old and brilliant Asian civilization. The exchanges between the two civilizations date back to ancient times. As early as over 600 years ago, Zheng He, the great Chinese navigator, led merchant ships to visit the Maldives twice, which spread the Chinese civilization, enhanced the mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples and initiated the history of exchanges and integration of our two civilizations, which has become an important part of the ancient Silk Road. Today, the Silk Road Spirit, featuring peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning, mutual benefits and win-win results, still illuminates the road ahead for China-Maldives relations and provides rich nourishment to the friendship between the two countries and two peoples from generation to generation. It has become an inexhaustible driving force for us to create a better future.

Civilization is colorful because of communication, and civilization is diversified because of mutual learning. China is willing to work with the Maldives to take the opportunity of promoting the Global Civilization Initiative and take it as a driving force of carrying forward the spirit of the Silk Road to jointly create a bright future for the modernization of our two countries, so as to write a brilliant chapter of China-Maldives future-oriented all-round friendly and cooperative partnership.

World

Under professed ideals lies Washington’s pursuit of hegemony

Published

4 hours ago

19/04/2024

Anyone familiar with U.S. history knows that Washington’s foreign and economic policies are often crafted to serve its own interests at the expense of others.

BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) — Beneath Washington’s veneer of lofty ideals and grandiose phrases championing economic globalization and free market principles lies a stark truth: These professed ideals serve merely as a convenient cover for its relentless pursuit of hegemony.

While concerns mount over U.S. government intrusions in business, such as the attempted forced sale of TikTok and the blocking of a Japanese firm’s takeover bid for U.S. Steel, anyone familiar with U.S. history knows that Washington’s foreign and economic policies are often crafted to serve its own interests at the expense of others.

Washington’s political elites denounced Donald Trump’s four years in office as a departure from the United States’ self-proclaimed role of “leading the world.” Though they spurned his “America First” banner like a pestilence, it embodies Washington’s approach to conducting business.

One such example is the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, which aimed to prevent European powers from interfering in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere. While framed as a policy to protect the sovereignty of newly independent Latin American nations, it only served to advance U.S. hegemony in the region.

Regarding trade, protectionist measures such as tariffs and trade barriers have been utilized throughout U.S. history to shield domestic industries and promote economic growth. For instance, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 increased U.S. tariffs on agricultural imports and more than 20,000 imported goods and stifled global trade.

While the Trump administration was unabashed on its protectionist stance, the current U.S. administration has adopted a more covert but essentially similar approach, leveraging the concept of national security for its agenda.

The Biden administration’s relentless pursuit of weaponizing technology and economic matters against China, coupled with the U.S. campaigns of “de-risking” and “de-coupling” from China, also exposes Washington’s glaring hypocrisy in maintaining its hegemony.

Despite its longstanding rhetoric of advocating “free trade” in sectors where the U.S. holds dominance, Washington conveniently wields protectionist measures under the guise of national security in areas where its supremacy is challenged.

From using coercive tactics such as the Plaza Accord to counter Japan’s economic influence to implementing measures like extraterritorial jurisdiction to dismantle iconic French manufacturing company Alstom and continually finding pretexts to hurt competitive Chinese high-tech enterprises, Washington has long indulged in “dressed-up protectionism,” quickly abandoning the very free market principles it has professed to uphold.

These U.S. maneuvers reveal Washington’s adeptness at exploiting the so-called rules-based global order, which it helped establish, to serve its interests while brazenly advocating the law of the jungle wherein actions like plunder, deceit, coercion, extortion or even violent conquest are condoned.

By employing tactics reminiscent of a bygone era of colonialism and unchecked imperialism, the United States undermines the very foundations of the global order it claims to champion. The world cannot afford to ignore this ugly truth about Washington.

Source(s): Xinhua

News

Maldives disheartened after US blocks Palestine’s UN membership

Published

4 hours ago

19/04/2024

Maldives has expressed disheartenment after the United States blocked Palestine’s second attempt to become a full member of the United Nations (UN).

US vetoed the widely supported Palestine’s UN membership resolution at the UN Security Council during a vote on Thursday.

Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer, in a post on X, said Maldives stands with more than 140 UN member states to support the Palestinian cause and their application to become admitted to the UN as a full member.

“It is imperative that the UN upholds its principles of justice and equality for all,” he stressed.

Minister Zameer also reaffirmed Maldives’ call for a just and lasting solution based on the establishment of an independent and sovereign State of Palestine based on the pre-1967 border.

Mohamed Naseer, the Principal Secretary at the President’s Office on Foreign Affairs, delivered Maldives’ statement at the UN Security Council meeting on Thursday.

Maldives, in the statement, called on the members of the United Nations; especially the permanent members of the UN Security Council to give their full and unconditional support for the admission of Palestine to the UN as a full member state.

Maldives also called on the UN Security Council to impose sanctions, including an arms embargo on Israel for violating the Charter of the Council on multiple occasions.

Thursday’s vote came more than six months into Israel’s military invasion in the besieged Palestinian territory that has left nearly 34,000 Palestinians dead — mostly babies, women and children — and wounded over 76,770.

Source(s): sun.mv

News

President: In actuality, opposition wishes to overthrow the government

Published

17 hours ago

19/04/2024

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu states despite the opposition in actuality wishes to overthrow the government despite showcasing they want to hold the government accountable.

Speaking at the PPM-PNC campaign rally for the parliamentary election held in Fuvahmulah City on Thursday night – President Muizzu said although the opposition preaches about holding the government accountable, their inner desires are coming out now.

“The opposition talked about accountability before. Now, they are expressing what was in their hearts with respect to it. To change the government. To overthrow. To impeach. These kinds of terms,” he said.

Underscoring that everyone is aware this is a violation of the rules of democracy, President Muizzu appealed to the public to not allow for the nation to fall into this instability.

Refuting the opposition’s remarks regarding holding the government accountable, the President, described pro-government candidates as responsible and honest individuals. Therewith, he stressed that they would hold the government accountable for the sake of their constituents.

He added that it was PPM lawmakers who played the most crucial role in holding him accountable when he was housing minister during the PPM administration.

Similarly, he said pro-government candidates will undertake all efforts necessary within the parliament to defend the rights of their constituents, adding they would also cooperate with the government in matters concerning the rights of the constituents.

Speaking further, President Muizzu said the development desired by the people cannot be achieved if there is a parliament where the opposition MDP holds the majority.

On this note, he said there is no development that MDP can bring by having the parliament’s majority as the opposition which they failed to bring during the past five years when the party was ruling and held the parliament’s majority.

Source(s): sun.mv