On June 10, in celebration of the UN International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations, Chinese Consul General in Penang Mr. Zhou Youbin published a signed article titled “Explore China-Malaysia Cooperation to Create a Shared Future towards Diversity of Civilizations” on Malaysia’s media including Kwong Wah Yit Poh, GuangMing Daily, Sin Chew Daily and Oriental Daily. The full text is as follows:

Civilization nurtures like quiet water, reshaping the world without a sound; it anchors like a majestic mountain, standing firm through the ages. Throughout the long course of human history, the civilizations have illuminated the path behind and before the different nations. However, today’s world is witnessing accelerating transformations unseen in a century, increasing deficit of peace, development and trust, and emerging noise of “clash of civilizations” or “superiority of civilizations” from time to time. Humanity has stood at a new crossroads. Against the backdrop, China proposed the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI) and established the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations, which marks a distinct Chinese footnote to the harmonious coexistence in the human society.

In 2023, China put forward the GCI, which serves as another significant public good provided to the international community, following the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and Global Security Initiative (GSI). The GCI focuses on four “common advocates”: joint advocacy for respect for the diversity of civilizations, advocacy for the common values of humanity, advocacy for the importance of inheritance and innovation of civilizations, and advocacy for robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation. It discards the theories of “superiority and inferiority of civilizations” or “clash of civilizations”, upholds the core tenets of equality, inclusiveness, mutual learning, profoundly illustrates the principles for human civilizations to interact with each other in the new era and provides a Chinese solution to the dilemma of civilization development. Malaysia has upheld the philosophy of diversity and coexistence, gathering people of different races, religions and cultures in the land. Malaysia has embraced the differences and built up consensus with an inclusive attitude, providing an environment for different civilizations to coexist, integrate and develop on one land, which is a clear testament to the most vivid local practice of the GCI which embodies “respect for the diversity of civilizations”.

On June 7, 2024, the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) unanimously adopted a resolution to declare June 10 every year as the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations. This Chinese initiative, supported by 83 countries, eloquently shows how the GCI take root in the reality, establishing a regular civilization dialogue mechanism for the countries around the world and providing an important platform for dispelling misunderstandings and differences, and bridging civilizational rifts. The GCI, dismantling the walls of civilizational estrangement, enables people of diverse nations, ethnicities and beliefs to connect deeply despite geographical distances. Getting rid of the trap of civilizational clash, the GCI replaces zero-sum confrontation with regular dialogue and diffuses bias and discrimination with openness and inclusiveness. Ultimately, it strengthens the momentum for collective progress in upgrading civilizational dialogue from fragmented exchanges to systematic cooperation, making respect for diversity, equal treatment, and mutual learning become the prevailing international consensus. In Malaysia, civilizational dialogue is not only on the political agenda, but lies in the daily life of millions of people living together every day. Here is what Malaysia’s experience has proved: the vitality of civilization comes not from self-isolation, but from openness and mutual learning; the charm of civilization lies not in erasing differences, but in seeking resonance within them; the future of civilization depends not on conquering others, but on thriving in peaceful coexistence.

Today, as geopolitical rivalry intensifies, the acts of taking “my country first” policy or waging wars in trade, technology and finance, will only bring nothing but loss to all. What the GCI emphasizes is not imposing uniformity on every country but advocating common values on the basis of respecting differences. It strongly opposes to forcing people to accept the so-called “universal values” which only refer to specific civilizations indeed, and even objects any interference in other countries’ internal affairs using this pretext. Both China and Malaysia firmly adhere to true multilateralism, advocate equality, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation. This stance is highly aligned with the spirit of the GCI.

In April 2025, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Malaysia again after 12 years, and had reached a series of understandings with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, which remarkably contains “jointly advocate the diversity, coexistence, harmony and inclusiveness of civilisations” and “promote meaningful Islam-Confucianism dialogue”. This signals increasing maturity of the dialogue mechanism between the two far-reaching world civilization systems. In April 2026, the Islam-Confucianism Civilisational Dialogue was held in Beijing on which nearly 300 experts and scholars from 24 countries around the world had discussions on the cooperation among civilizations. In May 2026, the Global Civilization Initiative International Symposium was held at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) Kampar Campus in Malaysia. Experts and scholars from China, Malaysia, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Sri Lanka and other countries conducted in-depth discussions on “building an inclusive and coexistence world”. Over the years, a variety of activities such as civilization forums, cultural performances, youth exchanges, academic exchanges and other activities have flourished in both China and Malaysia. In these two-way exchanges, the peoples of both countries have enhanced mutual understanding and deepened their friendship.

“Appreciating the diversity of one’s own culture, and embracing the beauty of all cultures in shared harmony.” Linked by a natural affinity and shared cultural roots, China and Malaysia enjoy a profound civilizational friendship nurtured through a millennium of exchanges. It is this shared substance of diversity and coexistence that has forged our common characteristics of openness and inclusivity. In the new era, China stands ready to work with Malaysia and other countries in the world, guided by the GCI and connected by the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations, to stay committed to inclusiveness, deeper civilizational dialogue, wider cooperation fields and connectivity and coexistence of diverse civilizations, and make contributions to building a high-level strategic China-Malaysia community with a shared future and establishing a peaceful, prosperous and inclusive world.