How should the media fulfill the Global Civilization Initiative?

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I. What does civilization mean?

Let's start with what "civilization" actually is.
The most important difference between man and animal is that man has reason. Since the beginning of mankind, it is through reason that we have developed - and every practical experience has contributed to the further growth of reason. It is through this repetition that we have created everything that has enabled us to survive - and live better: material conditions to feed and protect the body, mental achievements to strengthen the spirit, social rules for coexistence, and institutions to maintain order. All these fruits of reason together are called Civilizations.

Once civilization reaches a certain level, the need for its transmission arises.
Individual generations can no longer relive all the experiences of the past, so people have created symbols, values and rituals - culture - that express and transmit the core of civilization.

Civilization and culture are thus interconnected: civilization is the result of practical reason, while culture is the spiritual reflection of these practices. Culture helps civilization to overcome the limitations of time and space and enables its transmission to the next generation and communication between different peoples.

Thanks to this, we can understand the creations of our ancestors, understand their wisdom, and through culture also learn about other civilizations.

But at the same time, it must be remembered that human reason has its limitations - especially in the early stages of civilization. People then faced the same questions: how to feed themselves, how to improve their housing, how to manage life's problems, how to produce.
But the environment and conditions varied - some had rivers and fertile soil, others had pastures or mountains, some lived in freezing temperatures, others in the tropics. Therefore, the solutions to these issues were also different.

Behind all these differences, however, lies the same core: one wants Survive - a live better.
Without man, there would be no civilization. Thus, the roots of different civilizations grow from the same soil - the quest for survival and development.

The visible differences - in production methods or life wisdom - are only the result of different natural conditions, social environments and historical experience.
It is these differences that make civilizations trees in the forest: their roots are connected, but their branches grow in different directions towards the sky.

So how do we get people lived better? It's actually simple - to combine different new paths and solutions.
To do this, you need to learn learn from others. You don't know? Ask. Don't you understand? Talk. Even arguing can lead to understanding - because at the core we all want the same thing: a better life, we just see it differently.

And the key to understanding is to recognize that all wisdom has its reasons.
Each nation has created a culture according to its own conditions, environment and history. And each has tried its best to solve its problems - that's just the way it is.

If we understand that, we will also understand that respect is a prerequisite for real learning.
Those who think that their civilization is superior and others are inferior are closing the path to growth.

Equality is therefore the starting point. Only with an equal view can we see that every civilization has its value, that they are all the result of human reason and effort - and that respect for other civilizations is respect for oneself.

And it is the mutual learning and enrichment based on equality is the key to understanding.
And if we don't understand each other? Let's talk together.
Like now - when you visit China, you see how people really live there. You hear my story - even as a professor I went hungry as a child. That's how barriers disappear.
Thanks to such a dialogue, we begin to understand each other and get closer to each other.
And that's when learning becomes not an obligation, but an inner need.
And out of that grows real tolerance - not as forced endurance, but as deep acceptance.

II. Why does humanity need a Global Civilisation Initiative?

This is the understanding of civilization that President Xi Jinping talks about in the Global Civilization Initiative.
Underlying this view of civilization is the recognition that civilization is a creation of human reasonand that this reason - in different conditions and places - produces diverse and peculiar results.

The direction of the Global Civilisation Initiative is therefore very clear:
- Overcoming barriers by exchanging views,
- Resolve conflicts by learning from each other,
- Throw away the feeling of superiority through mutual tolerance.

This choice is inherently respect for the human being - enables every person in the world to step out of the closed self towards the wider self, to move from the limited space into the open world, to achieve fuller development and ultimately to become a man with a capital C.

The history of human civilization is itself a journey from local survival k global coexistence.
Humanity has undergone a transformation from "inhabitants of a certain area" to "citizens of the world" - and this transformation creates a community of shared human destinyopening the way to global development.

But not everyone understands this. Some people lack awareness of human unity and easily succumb to a sense of superiority and "survival of the fittest" logic.
But it must be remembered: what is civilization more primitive, the more it follows the rule "the stronger wins"; the more advancedthe more he appreciates collaboration.

Cooperation is the the least expensive the path to survival and development.
If someone in a conflict hurts another today, tomorrow the conflict may turn against him.
Only mutually beneficial cooperation will enable common interests to be realised and the full potential of collective human wisdom to be unleashed.

The Chinese nation is one of the of the oldest civilizationsthat entered the stage of civilization first - and more importantly, continuously develops it to this day.
This is not my subjective opinion - this conclusion was expressed by the British historian Arnold Toynbee in his book Study of History.
From millions of years of human prehistory, to tens of thousands of years of cultural history, to five thousand years of civilizational development, Chinese civilization has an uninterrupted continuation.

Perhaps it is because of this long history and accumulated experience that the Chinese nation has long since gained a profound understanding.
For example, the idea "government for the people" has now evolved into the principle "everything is done for the people".
Or the concept "harmony in difference"which recognises that differences between regions and groups exist objectively - but also emphasises "harmony" a collaborationthat allows for the merging of diverse wisdoms and ensuring benefits for all.

These principles not only accelerated China's development, but at the same time provide important inspiration for the world.
Today, China has introduced the concept of a "community of shared human destiny" and proposed three major global initiatives - just as rational reflection on how people can better coexist.

First: the Global Development Initiative

Without development there is no progress - those who are hungry can hardly speak of civilization.
But development must not be won by force - it must be Peace, mutually beneficial a Sustainable.

Second: Global Security Initiative

Once the development has taken place, there is also a need to safe - just like when one is satiated, one needs a safe and stable environment.
That's why China is pushing for resolving differences through dialogue, a replacing the zero-sum game with the principle of common security.

Third: Global Civilisation Initiative

If the development is accelerator pedal and security is brake, then the exchange and mutual learning between civilizations is steering wheelthat directs different "drivers" - i.e. civilisations with different historical backgrounds and cultural backgrounds.

Some proclaim the "clash of civilizations theory" - China, on the other hand believes in dialogue and mutual learning between civilizations.
It's the rational choice.

We believe that civilizations are neither superior nor inferior.
As Mao Zedong said, "One flower doesn't make spring, but when they all bloom, spring is in full bloom."
Each activity should benefit as many people as possible and allow them to get involved.

This principle is also applied in our current practice:
The "Belt and Road" is not the Chinese "backyard garden", but a "flower garden" jointly cultivated by all participating countries.
And the three global initiatives are not Chinese "solo" but a platform for joint planning and cooperation.

At its core, it's all a manifestation reason, respect for the diversity of civilisations, affirmation of common human values and also China's wise response in a new era to the question of how humanity can live better.

III. What role must the media play in the implementation of the Global Civilisation Initiative?

But the reality is that barriers and contradictions have their objective causes.
Humanity has evolved separately in different regions of the world for a long time. Limited resources have led to competition for survival, and differences in levels of development have led to differences in understanding of the world.
This creates a breeding ground for conflict and, in certain periods, for the emergence of a sense of civilizational superiority.

How then turn the principles of "exchange, mutual learning and tolerance" into reality?
Government support is of course important - it provides the institutional framework. But it is often too "hard".
Is there any softer forcethat can reach people's hearts? Yes - and that is Media.

Journalists move all over the world.
Their eyes see reality, their the heart retains professional integrity.
During the visit to Ganzhou City, participants learned about the thinker Wang Yangming. The guide mentioned his key concept: "the virtue of knowing the good".

For journalists just knowledge of the good means:
- whether every report comes from the heart,
- whether it matches the facts,
- whether it maintains professional responsibility, ethics and rules.

To record what one sees with one's own eyes and share it - that's real the fulfillment of journalistic knowledge of the good.

Just like you, the participants of this forum - you come from dozens of countries and millions of your readers are behind you.
Your reporting can help ordinary people in one country convey an authentic image of another country -
not through stereotypes, not through rumors, but through specific people and real stories.

And this is what "seeing" is the beginning of understanding.
Many of you here have experienced that personally. And I myself feel it very deeply.

Therefore, the media must take firm responsibility.
If we really want to achieve equal exchanges between civilizations, and finally mutual enrichment and coexistence,
Media carry a heavy burden.

Unlike the state apparatus, they have the advantage of being softer, closer to life, closer to reality.
As one of those present said: the exchange of civilizations is not just a "grand narrative" - it is often hidden in everyday things like food, sleep, hygiene.

Just banalities of everyday life are what bring people together.
And the media has the ability to bring an ordinary life into a vivid storyand thus to humanize the exchange between civilizations.

The media has one more an irreplaceable role - can translate what they see in other countries into a language that their own people understand.

Each country has its own interpretative framework. For example, terms used in China may not be understood abroad.
As one journalist said, "We need to tell the truth we have seen with our own eyes in the language of our country."

This "translation work across cultural contexts" governments often can't handle -
but the media, who know well both environmentsthey can do that.

But it shouldn't just be superficial "food and sleep reporting" -
it is necessary to reveal the spiritual core and the logic behind the everyday -
for example, the wisdom hidden in one dinner or the philosophy of life contained in one habit.

When we talk about the exchange of civilizations, we're talking about understanding of humanity, self-esteem, spiritual values -
and just Media can this depth to mediate and develop.

Therefore, the role of journalists extremely important.

Especially since we live in a time unprecedented changeswhen the the conflicts intensify, threats of war do not recede, and topics such as protection of peace, cooperation, respect for others, and even protection of humanity as suchare more important than ever.

Most important of all, though. to awaken in every man the consciousness of the common destiny of mankind.

Because we know: war, if it gets out of control, is already will not be limited - can to destroy the achievements of human civilization at a rate we can't even imagine today..

IV. How does the media fulfill the Global Civilization Initiative in the digital age?

But that's not all.
We are entering an era digital civilizationwhere technology and artificial intelligence are advancing at breakneck speed.
And what does the AI "learn"? From resources such as the media and the internet.

But there is a lot on the internet: prejudice, a sense of superiority, distorted information...
This is where he has professional journalism of great importance:
journalists with their truthful reporting form the "first truth" that AI learns.

This will allow them to future generations to coexist with AIthat understands the real worldnot the deformed one.

These "ordinary" messages are thus are laying the foundation for the digital era a will affect the future.

However, there is another serious problem: the development of AI is Uneven.
Some countries are ahead, others are behind.
In the world discourse some voices dominatewhile others cease to exist.

But artificial intelligence does not discriminate whose voice is "better" - she learns from what we present to her.

And that's why - for the sake of the future, for the sake of the new civilization of mankind - is necessary for everyone to have a say.
Not only the great and powerful civilizations - but also those small, forgotten and long silenced.

This equality of expression is not just a matter of peace today - will affect what the world will be like tomorrow..

In a digital age where the world is changing faster than ever before, the innovation in storytelling across cultures i media responsibility become extremely oppressive.

I am not a journalist myself, but as a political scientist who has been involved in this field for a long time, I feel personal responsibility to participate in this discussion.

Even though I'm in my early sixties, the last few days have been like young guide - when we got off the bus, I accompanied you in the field, and we had a discussion as we drove.
In three days I gave over ten talks - I call it:
"outside guide, on the bus teacher, all the time energy conductor".

Why am I doing this? Because I know that it makes sense for humanity and for future generations.
We who are alive today, we should do everything we can.

I'm getting a little emotional, but I have to get back to the point.
In closing, I would like to say to all of you wanted to sincerely thank - for three days together, for a friendship that has transcended this forum.
And also for all your insights that have deeply affected me.

I don't know if my summary has really managed to express your feelings a to unite our views.

If so - if you felt that "I speak for you",
then please give me one round of applause to encourage me.

Thank you!

Zheng Changzhong, Director of the Center for Research on Party Building and National Development at Fudan University,
Professor and Supervisor of Doctoral Students, Faculty of International Relations and Public Administration, Fudan University

(This text is a transcript of Professor Zheng Changzhong's closing remarks at the seminar "Innovations in Cross-Cultural Narratives and Media Responsibility in the Global Civilization Initiative" at the Belt and Road 2025 Journalism Forum.)

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