By Sunday Ani
A Beijing-based political commentator, Yi Fan, has said youth engagement is central to China’s vision for sustainable cultural exchange, noting that the future of inter-civilization dialogue lies with the young.
Yi Fan who made this assertion in his paper titled, “China: A Bridge for Exchanges between Civilizations Over Eighty Years,” said the China-U.S. “50,000 Strong” initiative, which aims to bring 50,000 American students to China, exemplified it.
He added: ” Sports and arts are universal languages that transcend division. As the world’s only Dual Olympic City, Beijing showcased this in 2022 when Russian and Ukrainian athletes embraced, reminding the world that human bonds outlast conflict.
“Even digital spaces foster connection. On Xiaohongshu, a Chinese social media platform, the hashtag #ChinaUSFamilyExchange has millions of views, featuring heartwarming meetups between American ‘TikTok refugees and Chinese netizens. Algorithms may divide but humanity’s desire for connection prevails.”
He notted that over the past eight decades, China had proven that heritage preservation, institutional innovation and youth engagement could build resilient bridges among civilizations, adding that within the U.N. framework, China continues to forge connections, guiding humanity toward shared prosperity.
The Political Commentator said China’s commitment to civilizational dialogue could be traced back centuries, asserting that, “The Han Dynasty’s Silk Road, pioneered by envoy Zhang Qian, turned windswept deserts into thriving arteries for exchanging goods and ideas.
“Today, as cultural tensions rise globally, China’s Confucian ideal of harmony without uniformity offers a timely antidote to the clash of civilizations narrative. The global civilization initiative underscores this vision, rejecting cultural hierarchy in favour of mutual learning.”
He added: “Civilizations thrive when their shared history is preserved. As custodians of humanity’s collective memory, world heritage sites serve as bridges between past and future, a mission China has embraced through global collaboration.”
