(June 11, 2025, The Hague)
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Members of the International Court of Justice,
Dear Friends, ladies and Gentlemen,
A very good afternoon to you all! What a beautiful day today!
In June last year, China tabled a resolution, designating the tenth of June as the "International Day for Dialogue Among Civilizations". It was adopted unanimously by all member states of the United Nations.
The resolution also invites UN members and international organizations to commemorate the International Day.
This is why we are here, to celebrate, for the first time.
It is so fitting that we gather in Den Haag, a city of peace and justice, at the Peace Palace, a symbol of international rule of law.
My sincere thanks to you all for coming.
I also wish to thank colleagues from the Diplomat magazine, from my Embassy, from the Peace Palace Administration,for the organization and support.
Dear friends,
Civilizations over the world have developed for thousands of years.
We are now living in a diversified world.
Diversity is beauty.
Asians and Africans, Europeans and Americans, and Oceanians, each group are proud of their own identity.
We treasure our own culture, and will continue to protect our tradition in the process of modernization.
Civilization is the source of pride, and has been inspiring and motivating its people.
At the same time, we keep an open mind in appreciating the perceptions of values by different civilizations.
President Xi Jinping, in the Global Civilization Initiative put forward in 2023, said that China advocates the respect for the diversity of civilizations, advocates the common values of humanity: peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom.
Yes, these are common values, not exclusive to any one culture. They belong to all mankind.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Each civilization has its own strengths. There is no such thing as a superior or inferior civilization.
The UN resolution calls for “dialogue and mutual respect” among civilizations,
Harmony is a salient feature of Chinese culture.
Confucius said, do not do to others as you would not have them do to you.
There should be no imposing one’s own values or models on others. No ideological confrontation.
We Chinese do not export ideology.
We export goods.
Like the Dutch, we are for free trade.
China is the largest trader of goods, and the major trading partner of more than 150 countries and regions, including the Netherlands.
As the Resolution states, globalization brings greater interrelatedness among people and increased interaction among cultures and civilizations, and we should embrace the interdependence of humankind.
Indeed, the vitality of civilizations lies in the exchange. We stand for mutual learning.
Our ancestors made great efforts to connect.
On the Eurasian continent, there was the Silk Road.
Admiral Zheng He made several maritime voyages in the early 15th century, reaching as far as Africa, not to conquer, but to see the outside world.
Mountains and oceans could no longer separate civilizations.
Countries have benefited from mutual learning and exchanges, contributing to the progress of human civilization.
Let me give you an example.
China has learned a lot from the Western civilization, like the art and the science.
The Dutch loved the porcelain from China, so much so that they started to make their own -- the renowned Delft blue. You can see a lot of them in the Netherlands, including at the VIP Center of Schiphol Airport. They are really beautiful.
People-to-people exchange is fundamental.
A Chinese saying goes that, the affinity of people holds the key to state relations, and the deepened connectivity enriches each other’s culture and promotes cooperation.
I wish to take this opportunity to once again highlight our visa free arrangement for most of European countries.
Seeing is believing.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a visit is worth a million words.
Dear friends,
Dialogue is to break barriers and build bridge.
Dialogue is to enhance understanding and cooperation.
There are deficits, deficits in peace, security, development, and governance.
There are gaps, the North-South gap, AI gap, digital divide.
And there are unilateralism, protectionism, the geopolitical tension.
Every country has the right to put its interest first. However, that should not mean international law second. There are norms to observe.
Cooperation is more needed, now than ever.
Challenges like climate, Covid are global, which require global cooperation.
They are unprecedented, which require unprecedented cooperation.
Take climate change for example, it could be a life-and-death issue for humanity. We need to mitigate and adapt.
I think the Dutch have done a good job in adapting themselves to the climate change. Living on the lowest land, they are the tallest people, so as to survive the sea-level rise.
Not only growing taller themselves, the Dutch are also leading global adaption efforts and making important contribution in this regard.
Climate change and sea-level rise do remind us that, we all share our fate in the same boat, and should work to build a shared future for mankind.
Excellencies,
2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII.
The founding of the United Nations marked the victory over fascism.
The flame before the Peace Palace, the flame for world peace, never goes out.
The International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations is meant for better understanding, enhanced cooperation and human progress, for peace and development.
China will continue working with all other countries under the UN framework to build a world where diverse civilizations coexist, justice is upheld by law, and inclusiveness benefits all.
Thank you!