Exchange and Mutual Learning Among Civilizations and Reshaping of Global Order

Zhang Zhizhou

The history of development of human society over thousands of years is a history of exchange and mutual learning among different civilizations. In ancient times， this happened in a slow way like “natural history” process. It is imperceptible but persistent and pervasive. Today， the world has entered the era of globalization， and civilizations have both the motivation to interact and integrate more deeply with each other， and more convenient conditions for exchange and mutual learning. Exchange and mutual learning among civilizations in diversity and with respective characteristics are shaping the basic features of the world in the era of globalization. However， the global order of the present time is an unequal one with western centrism and hegemonic dominance. Obviously， such a global order can hardly serve as the vessel of the common value and pursuit of humanity for peace and development. In order to shape a more just and reasonable global order， it is necessary to take the introduction of the Global Civilization Initiative as an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the significance of civilizational exchange and mutual learning for the world and its due role in reshaping the global order.

Exchange and Mutual Learning Among Civilizations Has Shaped the World History

The evolution of human history has some common and fundamental momentum. Specially， in modern times， as the “world system” had come into being， in which every nation-state was involved， the factor of the “world” or “international” became the basic driving force and structural factor that propelled the evolution of the system and， consequently， the development of world history. Among all these internal， institutional or essential motives， as well as external， systemic or structural motives， the exchange and mutual learning among civilizations have been breaking the walls between the internal and external， by institution and system， and of essential and structural nature and have largely shaped world history. Exchange and mutual learning of civilizations is both a key to understanding world history and an important means to build an international order in the era of globalization.

In the world history， a variety of civilizations have emerged. The types of civilizations are extremely diverse due to different geographical environments and historical stages that nurtured them. “Human history is the history of civilizations....This story stretches through generations of civilizations from ancient Sumerian and Egyptian to Classical and Mesoamerican to Christian and Islamic civilizations and through successive manifestations of Sinic and Hindu civilizations. Throughout history civilizations have provided the broadest identifications for people.”

Even in ancient times， when transportation was difficult， exchange and mutual learning between civilizations always occurred and developed. All civilizations that have developed and flourished have been the product of exchange and mutual learning. The reason for the decline of some civilizations， in addition to natural disasters and social unrest， also has to do with their failure to draw advanced elements from other civilizations to achieve sustainable development.

In the case of Western civilization， the ancient Greek civilization and its successor， the ancient Roman civilization， are often considered to be the source of todays Western civilization， and thus the basis of contemporary “Western centrism” or “Eurocentrism”. In reality， however， Western civilization has an “Eastern origin”. “Ancient Greek civilization was in fact significantly derived from ancient Egypt”， and “its rise of the West would have been inconceivable without the contributions of the East”. “Historically， European civilization has been closely related to West Asian， North African and Indian civilizations”. All these are reflected in the integration of languages， religions and the sharing of common myths and knowledge. The great achievements of Chinese civilization， such as the “Four Great Inventions” of the compass， paper-making， printing and gunpowder， contributed to the rise of Western civilization， as well as silk， porcelain， iron smelting techniques and Chinese masterpieces， which were spread to the West by the Central Asians or the Arabs.

In ancient East Asia， the process of Chinese civilization from its origin to its prosperity was also a process of continuous exchange and mutual learning with neighboring regions based on its agricultural civilization. The influence of Chinese civilization， mainly in the form of Confucianism， on the neighboring regions was not only reflected in “soft power” such as ideology， cultural masterpieces and religious beliefs， but also in the shaping of the international order in ancient East Asia through civilizational exchanges.

In recent years， the “Belt and Road” has become a buzzword， but in fact， the cultural roots of the “Belt and Road” initiative lie in the strong and distinctive temporal and spatial marks left by the historical Silk Road for the exchange and mutual learning of civilizations with the exchange of goods. Japanese scholar Kazutoshi Nagasawa writes in his book A Study of the History of the Silk Road that “the Silk Road， which connected Europe and North Africa via Syria from East Asia， was a road connecting three continents， so its area was exceptionally vast and complex， and countless peoples had relations with this road. Its scale is so grand that it would not be too much to say that the entire history of mankind is associated with it.” In analyzing the reasons for the importance attached to the Silk Road by various countries， he discusses three aspects. First， the Silk Road， as a major artery through Asia and Africa， was central to the development of world history. Second， the Silk Road linked the womb of the worlds major cultures. In particular， the ends of the road had produced many ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamian， Egyptian， Khorezm， Indus， and Chinese civilizations. Third， the Silk Road was a bridge between the civilizations of the East and the West. The cultures that appeared all over the Silk Road， relying on caravans， spread to all parts of the East and West， while receiving a variety of different cultures and promoting the development of civilizations everywhere. The Silk Road was the artery of cultural exchange between East and West， which fully illustrates the role of the Silk Road in the exchange and mutual learning of human civilizations and its impact on the construction of the modern international order.

Summarizing the history of civilization exchange and mutual learning， the following characteristics can be found. First， the world civilization features diversity. It is precisely because of the diversity and differences that civilizations need to exchange and learn from each other， which is the necessity for a civilization. Secondly， every civilization is not flawless， and only through exchange and mutual learning can civilizations develop better. Third， the values that constitute the connectivity among civilizations in world history are the important support of international relations. To change the acts of war and conflicts of interests in international relations， it is fundamentally necessary to build a value system of peaceful coexistence and to conduct an equal dialogue among civilizations. To sum up， exchange and mutual learning of civilizations both requires a world order with pluralistic and equal civilizational players and provides the driving force for the construction of such a world order.

The Urgent Need for Reshaping Global Order Has Its Reasons

We name world order or international order in the era of globalization as the global order. From the perspective of civilization and culture， the global order of the present era has produced many dilemmas such as “clash of civilizations”， so it needs to be reshaped in order to solve a series of problems brought by it.

From the historical point of view， there are two main reasons why the European regional order since the 19th century has been extended to the world and become a global order. The first is that the twists and turns of history has made the principle of sovereign states， established by the Peace of Westphalia in 1648， the UN Charter as the primary principle and the cornerstone of the norms of international relations after the Second World War; the second is that countries of different power and strengths have formed not only an international political power structure among themselves， but also a set of intertwined rules， norms， and value relations， as well as mechanisms that operate according to certain rules. These two aspects together constitute todays global international order， where hegemonic states always have an urge to “dominate the world”.

Fundamentally， to understand the global order of the present era， we need to look at two aspects. The first is the dominant forces in the international political power structure， i.e.， the great powers and the centers of power; the second is the rules and mechanisms that drive the operation of these powers， the primary one being the principle of sovereign state in the UN Charter. In the realistic order shaping， if large and small countries follow the principle of sovereign state equality， then the constructed global order is an equal one; if the relevant countries want to break the balance of power structure， but also want to master the dominant discourse over other countries in the formulation of rules， norms， values and mechanism operation， then the constructed order is an unequal one， or even a hegemonic one. The United States is in a hegemonic position in the international political power structure today， and has a “cultural hegemony” in terms of rules， norms， values and other cultural and civilizational elements， and has built an unequal order on this basis. To a large extent， “Western centrism” has become “American centrism”.

Todays global order is characterized by the following points. First， the United States is the only global hegemonic power， and the existing international order is a global hegemonic order. Second， the U.S. has a stubborn ideological concept of so-called “liberty and democracy” and hopes to uphold a “liberal international order”， which is inherently contradictory to the hegemony based on physical power but also has a mutually constructive relationship. Third， the post-Cold War international political power structure and international relations are undergoing great changes， and the global order based on it is volatile and unstable. Fourth， the existing global order is characterized by serious inequalities. There are gaps both in power between the hegemonic power and other countries， as well as in the say when it comes to rules， norms and values. Both of the gaps undermine the principle of equality of sovereign states as stipulated in the UN Charter. Fifth， the United States， the sole hegemonic power in the global order， generates a sense of civilizational superiority and contributes to the “clash of civilizations”. To build a more peaceful and stable world order， the present global order must be reshaped.

Global Civilization Initiative Boosts Exchange and Mutual Learning among Civilizations and Reshaping Global Order

In order to reshape todays global order， we must first of all examine the peculiarities of todays historical stage of globalization from the perspective of fulfilling the responsibility， morality and sentiment for peace and development for mankind， and figure out ways for different civilizations to get along with each other; secondly， we must have a clear understanding of the two major elements of the characteristics and composition of the existing order， namely， the international political power structure and the international sharing of the say in terms of rules， norms and operation mechanisms; and thirdly， we must promote actions and solve problems through dialogue and exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations so as to rebuild the civilizational order in the world.

The philosophical foundation of global order lies in the consideration of how human groups should get along with each other having different vision for civilization. International relations， with sovereign national states as the “basic unit”， is usually considered as a social science， but in fact it is first of all about how to get along with “people as collective” for nations or states. It can be said that international relations is actually a philosophical issue first and foremost， i.e. a question of culture and civilization. Nowadays， in the face of the unprecedented changes of the century， one should be conscientious to think about how different civilizations coexist.

The realistic basis of the global order lies in the system of sovereign national states and the interaction between them. Although the United States “has played a good hand badly” since the end of the Cold War， thus troubled by factors of decline， it is still the hegemonic power in the present global order. As a rising major country after the Cold War， China has undoubtedly improved its position in the international political power structure， but it has not yet “developed an international discourse capability that matches its comprehensive national strength and international status” in terms of international rules， norms and mechanisms， as well as dissemination of Chinese civilization and cultural spirit. This unjust and unreasonable global order needs to be reshaped around the concept and discourse power of international power structures and rules， norms， and mechanisms.

Today， China is “moving closer and closer to the center of the world stage，” presenting the great strength and inherent civilizational spirit of Chinese civilization. Compared to other civilizations around the world with a monotheistic core， Chinas secular civilization has its own unique claim to unite the common values of all humanity. The Global Civilization Initiative， proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping at the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting on March 15， 2023， is of particular significance. The Global Civilization Initiative advocates respecting the diversity of world civilizations， insisting on equality， mutual learning， dialogue and tolerance among civilizations， transcending civilizational estrangement with exchanges， clashes with mutual learning， and superiority with inclusion; it advocates the promotion of common values of all humankind， understanding with broad-mindedness the cognition of different civilizations on the connotation of such values， and neither imposing ones own values and models on others nor engaging in ideological confrontation; it advocates paying attention to the inheritance and innovation of civilizations， fully exploring the contemporary values of the history and culture of all countries， and promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of the excellent traditional culture of all countries in the process of modernization; it advocates strengthening international cultural exchanges and cooperation， exploring the construction of a global civilization dialogue and cooperation network， enriching the content of exchanges， expanding the channels of cooperation， promoting peoples of all countries to get to know each other， and jointly promoting the development and progress of human civilization.

The Global Civilization Initiative reflects the gentle， inclusive， harmonious and symbiotic nature of 5，000 years of Chinese civilization and the impartial “greatest common denominator” of all human values. The dialogue and exchange of civilizations on an equal footing will definitely lead to a new form of human civilization. At a time when the injustice and unreasonableness of the unipolar hegemonic order of the United States is becoming more and more obvious， respecting diversified civilizations and promoting the development and progress of different civilizations can push the world out of the illusion of “clash of civilizations”. The Global Civilization Initiative has the significance of reshaping the hegemonic order in the era of globalization not only in terms of the power structure of realist international politics， but also in terms of the “soft power” of international rules， norms， values and mechanisms that constitute the international order.

Zhang Zhizhou is Professor of School of International Relations of Beijing Foreign Studies University