Beijing (TDI): Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called on nations to replace suspicion with conversation, urging the world to build mutual trust through civilizational dialogue at a moment of “unprecedented challenges” facing humanity.
Speaking via video at an event marking the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations, Wang Yi put forward a four-pronged framework for how countries should engage across cultural and ideological lines.
He argued that no culture should consider itself superior to another, and called for championing “mutual learning, dialogue, and inclusiveness” as guiding principles for international relations.
Wang’s second point placed people at the center of the exchange. Diplomatic niceties, he suggested, are not enough; real progress requires fostering genuine friendship among ordinary citizens across borders, and ensuring that the benefits of cross-cultural learning reach people “more extensively and directly.”
Dialogue among civilizations brings people closer and makes the world more understanding.
As Foreign Minister Wang Yi noted, dialogue is key to enhancing mutual understanding and trust. Civilizations grow stronger not through isolation or confrontation, but through respect,… pic.twitter.com/qT0fWLwHVW
— Jiang Xuebin 姜学斌 (@ChinaAmbTurkiye) June 9, 2026
China, he said, stands ready to deepen dialogue with all nations and share experience in governance, with the aim of collectively charting paths toward modernization.
The third pillar of his framework addressed the tension between tradition and modernity, calling for the preservation and creative reinvention of traditional cultures, pledging Chinese assistance to countries seeking to adapt their cultural heritage for the contemporary world.
Notably, he also pointed to technology, specifically artificial intelligence and social media, as tools that could accelerate and enrich civilizational exchange, urging nations to “exploit technological dividends” in service of cultural understanding rather than division.
Finally, Wang called for stronger institutional mechanisms to support inter-civilizational dialogue, backing platforms such as the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and UNESCO, as well as the Forum of Ancient Civilizations, to take on more active roles.
Beijing has increasingly framed its foreign policy around the concept of a “community with a shared future for humanity,” a phrase Wang invoked again as both an aspiration and a strategic vision.
