Xi stresses cultural preservation, civilizations exchange  

习近平：从孔夫子到孙中山 我们都汲取养分

Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses an international seminar to mark the 2,565th anniversary of the birth of Confucius, which is concurrent with the Fifth Congress of the International Confucian Association (ICA), at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept 24, 2014. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday said China must preserve and develop its native culture and promote exchanges between different civilizations to make the world a better place.

"Promoting the exchanges and integrations of different civilizations is an inevitable path to make the world and people's lives better," Xi said at the opening of an international meeting on ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius.

Xi delivered a key-note speech at the International Conference in Commemorating the 2565th Anniversary of Confucius and the fifth Congress of the International Confucian Association, which opened on Wednesday at the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing.

He made a four-point proposal on handling the civilizations of different countries and dealing with the traditional culture and the current culture.

Urging respect for the diversity of civilizations in the world, Xi quoted ancient Chinese thinker Mencius' saying that "It is an objective fact that all things are different from one another."

"History has repeatedly proved that any move that aims to resolve differences among civilizations is doomed to failure and wreck havoc on civilizations," according to the president.

Stressing the values of diversified human civilizations, Xi called for rational handling of differences between the civilization of one's own country and those of elsewhere, and for the fact that every civilization is unique to be recognized.

People must seek common ground while reserving differences and not attack or disparage other civilizations, he said.

"Don't feel displeased or try to transform, assimilate or even replace other civilizations when they are different from your own," Xi told the audience.

"All countries and nations should learn and draw on the strength and quintessence of others' ideology and culture. This is an important condition to encourage dignity, confidence and strength of native ideology and culture," he said, while stressing that every nation should value and maintain its own ideology and culture.

"Any kind of civilization, no matter which country or nation it originated from, is fluid and open," Xi said, arguing that such flow is an important rule for the spread and development of civilizations.

Chinese civilization has become more rich and colorful through exchanges with others and in return made great contributions to human civilization in history, Xi said, citing the opening of the ancient Silk Road and the foreign diplomats sent to China in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), among other developments.

Confucianism originated from China and it has long been part of human civilization, said the president.

Xi called on people to treat traditions in a scientific way and seek to carry forward traditional culture while developing current ones.