President calls for enhancing cultural ties

Need to harness Beijing's strengths emphasized at opening of key forum

President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that China will better utilize Beijing's advantages as an ancient capital and national cultural center to strengthen cultural exchanges with people from all over the world and enhance mutual learning among different civilizations.

Xi made the remark in a congratulatory letter sent to the 2023 Beijing Culture Forum, which opened in the capital on Thursday. Themed "Inherit cultural legacies, promote exchanges and cooperation", the two-day event is jointly hosted by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and the Beijing municipal government.

Xi said the Chinese nation has a time-honored, fine traditional culture featuring openness and inclusiveness, noting that the Chinese civilization has always valued mutual understanding and respect among different civilizations.

Beijing, with its long history and continuous cultural heritage, serves as a powerful testament to the continuity, innovation, unity, inclusiveness and peacefulness of Chinese civilization, he said.

China will take better advantage of Beijing's strengths to promote exchanges with the rest of the world, in an effort to promote cultural prosperity and development, protect cultural heritage, and implement the Global Civilization Initiative, injecting profound and enduring cultural strength into the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, Xi said.

Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, said that people should take guidance from Xi's congratulatory letter to build the modern Chinese civilization at a higher level and carry out wide-ranging exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations.

Cai expressed the hope that the forum will produce fruitful results and have a bigger presence.