China is steadfastly expanding high-standard opening up and will continue to share development opportunities with other countries and deliver more certainty and stability to the world economy, Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing said on Thursday.
Zhang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when addressing the Global Convergence for Growth Summit via video link at the invitation of the French government.
The four global initiatives put forward by the Chinese head of state provide guidance and impetus for promoting world peace and development, Zhang said.
Zhang called for prioritizing development, improving global governance and promoting inclusive growth of the world economy.
All countries should uphold openness and cooperation, take an objective view of the comparative advantages of different countries, foster a free and facilitative trading environment, and practice true multilateralism, he said.
The World Convergence Summit for Growth was hosted by France and chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, as well as high-level representatives from the United States, Brazil, India, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom, along with leaders of a European Union institution and the International Monetary Fund, were at the meeting.
China will continue to share development opportunities with other countries: vice premier
A Greek scholar has shed light on the multi-layered value of classical studies, asserting that modern civilizations can deepen their understandings of themselves, each other, and the challenges they face through the lens of ancient wisdom.
On the sidelines of the just-concluded World Conference of Classics held in Athens, Greece, Professor Myrto Garani of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens said that Greek and Chinese intellectual traditions, despite giving different answers to life's fundamental questions, offer complementary paths to wisdom that remain urgently relevant today.
"The two civilizations clearly faced many of the same fundamental questions. That is what interests us, and that is why it is so valuable to gather here in Athens and discuss the concerns shared by both peoples since antiquity. We may have arrived at different answers. However, by examining the different ways in which we approached these questions, we can also reconsider the answers that our own civilization produced. In doing so, we gain a deeper understanding of one another. That is the real value of this dialogue and the reason we continue to explore these questions in greater depth," said Garani.
The professor said that she urges young people who view the classics as outdated or irrelevant to consider that ancient wisdom equips modern minds with essential tools for navigating today's crises.
"Classical studies will obviously not provide direct answers to the climate crisis or the energy crisis, for example. But they can help us cultivate our thinking and our judgment. The way people confronted fundamental questions in the past can help us respond to the challenges of the present. I believe this is one of the greatest things we can gain from classical studies. They encourage comprehensive thinking and critical judgment. They also allow us to examine the values of antiquity and understand how those values can be adapted and applied today," said Garani.
Held from June 9 to 10 under the theme "Dialogue Between Ancient and Modern Civilizations: Contemporary Inspiration from Classical Wisdom," the Second World Conference of Classics brought together more than 200 scholars, researchers and cultural representatives from Asia, Europe, Africa and North America.
This year's gathering highlighted the contemporary relevance of classical civilizations, exploring how ideas drawn from ancient traditions can offer insights into governance, ethics, social development and international relations amid evolving global challenges.
Greek scholar hails classical studies as East-West bridge
