Illustration: Chen Xia/Global Times

The studies on the Chinese strategy of international communication are of philosophical, historical and realistic significance. 

We should first clarify what is the Chinese view of civilization as it is a consensus that must be reached by China's historical, social, cultural and ideological circles as well as the community. Despite the academic arguments and diverse views, the building of China's discourse system can, in practice, transcend the nuances in them and establish the basis of a mainstream discourse system.

The concept of "Chinese modernization" proposed at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is an epitome of the current view of Chinese civilization. The essential requirements of Chinese modernization are as follows: upholding the leadership of the Communist Party of China and socialism with Chinese characteristics, pursuing high-quality development, developing whole-process people's democracy, enriching the people's cultural lives, achieving common prosperity for all, promoting harmony between humanity and nature, building a human community with a shared future, and creating a new form of human advancement. Therefore, the Chinese view of civilization can be spread based on the core discourse of "Chinese modernization."

The world's civilizations are diverse. British historian Arnold Joseph Toynbee believed that there are at least 31 kinds of civilizations in the world except those that are now extinguished. So the coexistence of different ­civilizations has always been a historical fact. 

In the era of the big changes we face today, we should take full consideration of the communication between the Chinese civilization and those of the West, Islam, Africa, India, Russia, Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia on the basis of seeking common ground while shelving differences, as well as mutual learning. 

First, it means that in spreading the Chinese view of civilization, we must communicate with others in the scope of ideology and values. The Chinese modernization represents the most essential elements in this regard. Of course, this view should also be further expounded and interpreted. 

In building our own external discourse system, we should deeply understand its connotations before we can argue with and objectively and rationally disclose the incompatibility in Western civilization. In fact, the Chinese civilization can serve as a kind of reconciliation and balance to Western civilization instead of its enemy. 

Second, we can focus on the symbols of civilizations. For example, the cross, as a tangible object, symbolizes the Christian civilization. Likewise, the Chinese civilization enjoys rich and visible signs, such as the Great Wall, Chinese characters, and the ink brush. Therefore, China can search for and create more visible icons such as traditional and modern artworks, which can be a major work in introducing Chinese civilization to the world. 

Third, we should accept commonly used languages from people-to-people exchanges. In the internet era, there have been many languages that can be borrowed by different civilizations. They can surpass the ideological barrier and create an actual space of communication. 

The Chinese civilization is one of the world civilizations, and constitutes a large part of them. However, it has never been a civilization that dominates the whole world. In the future, various civilizations should coexist and integrate with one another. If disputes and conflicts occur among civilizations, especially major ones, human civilization will be under severe threat. On a globe where nuclear threat has not been completely eliminated, it is possible that serious confrontation leading to nuclear wars between major civilizations could be triggered. Such an extreme situation will likely impose a severe threat to world civilization. 

In disseminating the Chinese view of civilization, we should help build a consensus of the coexistence of different civilizations, strengthen its peace-loving image from the natural and historical respects, and make the world understand that the concept of Chinese civilization is conducive to the reconciliation of the crisis in Western civilization. We should also emphasize that Chinese civilization is committed to harmonious coexistence between different civilizations. 

The author is a professor with Beijing Foreign Studies University. life@globaltimes.com.cn