Chinese musicians perform at a concert held at the Giza Pyramids in Giza, Egypt, on 3 April

In recent years, the problems in the world have become increasingly prominent, and the Chinese government has attached greater importance to collaborating with the rest of the world to identify the blind spots which prevent us from discovering solutions to persistent problems and searching for effective, comprehensive, and lasting solutions that are based on the affirmation of a value-based, human-centred perspective on which an inclusive and sustainable global society can be founded.  

This is because the Chinese government believes that with strong partnerships and goodwill, we can work for a world free from the tragedies that dominate today’s headlines. In making long-term plans for lasting solutions, the Chinese government carefully considers the important role of global civilisation.      

A new public good 

The Global Civilisation Initiative (GCI) is another vital public good the Chinese government has shared with the world. The initiative injects fresh energy into the common development of the world and makes headway in a world troubled with multiple challenges and crises. The initiative not only covers the basic principle that different civilisations can tolerate each other, coexist and learn from each other, but also emphasises both material and cultural-ethical advancement that seeks to explore a paradigm shift towards seeing the world as an interconnected whole.  

The initiative will substantially contribute to overcoming the current value crisis and working towards making humankind a collectively responsible actor. It will provide a platform for the world to know that we have to work together to overcome our challenges, and have to rethink our problems in frameworks different from those which created them.  

This is the fresh framework the initiative brings to the world, a framework that is constructive, operative, sustainable, and relevant in today’s world.  It is a framework that advocates respect for different civilisations, counters the notion of the clash of civilisations, promotes the peaceful coexistence of civilisations, supports their right to development, and pursues global peace and prosperity which fully meets the needs of the international community. This is because China believes that if we want to live in peace, we must respect diversity - the diversity in terms of values, culture, religion, governance systems and democracy. 

How does the GCI link to global security? Violence and conflict are “crisis multipliers” that have profound implications for international peace and stability. Through the introduction of the GCI, China, which does not seek to exploit or control other nations or play any role in inciting conflicts, intends to move the world from a culture of violence and conflict to a culture of peace. This is because after the end of the Cold War, the world entered an era of rapid globalisation, but it has not really experienced peace. The Cold War mentality and practice of demarcating ideological boundaries and engaging in bloc confrontation have not disappeared. On the contrary, in recent years it is resurging. The Russia-Ukraine conflict is essentially a remnant of the Cold War detonating a powder keg in the 21st century. In other parts of the world, the practice of distinguishing between friends and foes in the name of “values” and wooing one faction while combating against another faction casts an enormous shadow on world peace and development.  

Meanwhile, China has made productive efforts as a major responsible nation to champion political settlement of crises, resolve international hot-spot issues, facilitate peace talks and deescalate tensions. The Chinese government has also stated that China will promote development, win-win cooperation, and harmony between humans and nature, rather than external expansion and plundering. China intends to follow these principles as the initiative will create a stable, healthy world where resources are equally shared and where - for the first time in history - individuals “come to know what it feels like to be secure.”  

China’s vision of a community with a shared future for mankind has become a banner that guides the trend of the times and human progress, and a source of certainty for lasting peace and shared prosperity for the global economy. In this sense, the GCI is an extension and complement to the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and the Global Security Initiative (GSI), and together they form the key components of a human community with a shared future that will constantly ensure stability and bring new hope to this world of turbulence and transformation.  

Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the Communist Party of China has led the Chinese people to create two miracles - rapid economic development and long-term social stability. The GCI, GDI and GSI are highly condensed versions of China’s past successful experiences, which China is willing to share with the world without reservation to achieve common development through mutual exchange and learning. It can be said that these three initiatives are all high-quality global public goods signifying China’s sincerity and goodwill for other nations.   

African participation 

Africa also boasts a long history and brilliant culture. Africa is the place of origin of the world civilisation and has a profound impact on the spread of diversified cultures.  

Cultural exchange is one of the important pillars of the comprehensive and strategic partnership between China and Africa. Therefore, for China-Africa relations, and in terms of promoting development on the African continent, China’s vision for a shared future and the GCI will become increasingly relevant as this implies striving towards a common and mutually beneficial future, wherein the continent of Africa can meaningfully benefit and take part in the initiative.  

Since China advocates a policy of peaceful development and promotes stability through development and economic growth, it has proved to be an ideal partner for the African continent and is playing a vital role in the development of Africa. China’s engagement with the continent within the context of the GCI will be underpinned by the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, including China’s bilateral relations with different African nations at political, economic, social and cultural levels.  

In addition, the GCI can support the pursuit of sustainable security and peace. This is timely because China is mounting its partnership and coordination with the African Union peacekeeping missions for the fight against maritime piracy at the Gulf of Aden. African nations are steadily reinforcing their capacities across the peace continuum, from prevention and peace-making to peacekeeping, underpinned by inclusive sustainable development. This will help to create a framework in China-Africa cooperation that centres on friendship and peace and excludes all kinds of enmity, confrontation and conflict.  

We are living in a new era as a result of the revolutions in science, technology and culture. The promise of the future rests with those who have the imagination to build a different, better world. Therefore, the world must abandon the concept of “them and us” and embrace the notion of a “global we,” to jointly create a new global civilisation framework.  

The author is executive director of the Centre for Nigerian Studies, Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University