UNESCO official hails 'successful' partnership with China, Xi’s thoughts on global civilization

China has been a key partner of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in multiple areas and the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping plays a significant role in promoting inter-cultural dialogue, said UNESCO official Shahbaz Khan.

Ten years ago, at the headquarters of the UNESCO in Paris, France, President Xi shared his vision of a diverse, equitable and inclusive civilization. CGTN recently sat down with Shahbaz Khan, director of the UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office for East Asia (UNESCO Beijing). Khan expounded on UNESCO' collaborations with Chinese authorities and institutions to make that vision a reality

"In China, UNESCO has made a big impact over the years. And [in] the areas which are very important for China, of course, culture, we have 57 World Heritage Sites here, very beautiful sites and we have 43 Intangible Cultural Heritages. But also in the areas of science and technology, with the help of China, we have advanced science and technology in a number of areas, for example, in water sciences we have a very special center with the Ministry of Water Resources' Institute [of ]Water [Resources] and [Hydropower] Research. In education we have progressed key areas which are now [part of the] global agenda, like the artificial intelligence," said Khan.

He then spoke of the UNESCO center focused on rural education at Beijing Normal University, which is very "successful," and the UNESCO International Institute for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Education built last year in Shanghai, which is the tenth Category 1 center established by UNESCO globally and the first of its kind outside of Europe and the Americas.

"So China has been a very strong partner of UNESCO, especially with the leadership of President Xi Jinping, who has always given UNESCO a lot of importance, and given us a lot of guidance on many of the areas," said the UNESCO Beijing director, adding that the partnership "is growing every day in a very nice way."

President Xi also put forward the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI) in March 2023, which advocates respect for the diversity of civilizations, the common values of humanity, the importance of inheritance and innovation of civilizations, as well as robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.

Echoing Xi’s remarks: "All flowers in full blossom make a beautiful spring," Khan called for respect for heritages and civilizations of different countries and regions and communication among cultures to boost understanding.

"This initiative is more relevant than ever before. As President Xi's thought about global civilization is strongly based on: if there is a single flower in a garden, then there would not be a spring; We need to have all the flowers to have a real spring. That will help create a better understanding, what we call intercultural dialogue. That intercultural dialogue and respect for different civilizations is more crucial than ever before," he said.

He also stressed the need of people-to-people exchanges among young generations to learn from one another and contribute to creativity and heritage protection.

"We have an initiative with [the Chinese cities of] Changsha and Nanjing, where we have an international youth forum where we bring young people from Africa, from Asia. They come together. Young people [are] coming here, understanding Chinese civilization but also talking to each other, so it is a demonstration of global civilization. We need such ideas to guide us into future," said the UNESCO official.

UNESCO official hails 'successful' partnership with China, Xi’s thoughts on global civilization

UNESCO official hails 'successful' partnership with China, Xi’s thoughts on global civilization

Chinese President Xi Jinping held a restrictive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday at Zhongnanhai in Beijing, during which they had in-depth exchanges on strategic issues of common concern.

The world is undergoing changes unseen in a century and entering a new period of turbulence and transformation, Xi noted, adding that in the face of the ever-evolving world landscape with volatility and turmoil, China has maintained its strategic resolve.

He said that under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people have overcome various difficulties and challenges, and are striving to promote high-quality development and Chinese modernization.

China is willing to work with Russia and other countries to enhance solidarity and cooperation, steer global governance in the right direction, jointly safeguard international fairness and justice, and promote world peace and common development, Xi said.

Noting that China's development is unstoppable and that no force can contain China's growth and progress, Putin said that Russia is willing to improve cooperation with China and other Global South countries to promote international fairness and justice, and to work toward a more equal and multipolar world.

The two heads of state had an in-depth exchange of views on the Ukraine crisis.

Xi elaborated on China's consistent position and efforts to promote the political settlement of the Ukraine issue, stressing that to deal with any major issue, it is necessary to address both the symptoms and the root causes, and to plan for the present as well as for the long term.

He said the core of the Global Security Initiative is advocating the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and the fundamental solution to the Ukraine issue is to promote the establishment of a new balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture.

Xi said China supports the convening of an international peace conference recognized by Russia and Ukraine at an appropriate time with equal participation and fair discussion of all options, so as to push for an early political settlement of the Ukraine issue, and China stands ready to continue to play a constructive role in this regard.

Putin introduced the relevant views and positions of Russia, saying that Russia appreciates China's objective, just and balanced position on the Ukraine issue and welcomes China to continue to play an important and constructive role in the political settlement of the issue. Russia is committed to resolving the Ukraine issue through political negotiations and is willing to demonstrate sincerity and maintain close communication with China in this regard, he said.

Xi said that over the years, they have had many meetings and every exchange has been candid, in-depth and fruitful.

Xi said he is ready to stay in close contact with President Putin and work together to steer the development of China-Russia relations in the right direction, guide the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era to achieve steady and lasting progress, bring more benefits to the two peoples, and contribute to world security and stability.

Putin thanked Xi for his warm hospitality, saying that he is willing to maintain close communication with Xi, implement the important consensus reached between them, and ensure the full development of the Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era.

Xi holds restrictive meeting with Putin at Zhongnanhai

Xi holds restrictive meeting with Putin at Zhongnanhai