Civilizations learn through exchanges

China is set to approve the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) at the ongoing two sessions. One notable element of the plan that has attracted plenty of attention from around the world is that: We should engage in deeper exchanges and mutual learning with other cultures.

For professor Bart Dessein, who is also coordinator of the ReConnect China project at the Egmont Royal Institute for International Relations in Belgium, that statement has come in time because of a need to foster mutual understanding.

"Different civilizations need to interact and learn from each other," Dessein said in an exclusive interview with China Daily. "The essence of mutual learning is to understand other cultures from within one's own historical experience and cultural background."

Dessein, who speaks fluent Chinese and has spent decades studying China, began his analysis by reflecting on the Chinese wording that better illustrates his vision.

"The key term hu jian literally means to mirror each other — We always need a mirror in which we can see our reflections," he said. "Every country and every culture inevitably views the world from its own perspective, but at the same time we are constantly exposed to information from different countries and cultures, which allows us not only to see others, but also to reflect on ourselves."

Over the past several decades, globalization had accelerated such interaction at an unprecedented scale. Yet Dessein noted that the atmosphere has shifted in recent years, as international exchanges appear increasingly confrontational. For Dessein, exchange among civilizations should not be reduced to the logic of power politics.

Civilizational dialogue, he argued, operates at a higher level of thinking, aimed at addressing the common challenges facing the whole of mankind via cooperation.

At the top of that list of challenges, in his view, stands climate change. Recent research from the Yale School of Environment found that the world is poised to overshoot the goal of limiting average global warming to 1.5 C. For the first time, a three-year period ending in 2025 breached that threshold — a sobering milestone for climate scientists and policymakers alike.

In this area, he believes China and Europe — two major civilizations with deep historical traditions — have ample room for cooperation. China's rapid development in solar energy, wind power and electric vehicles offers potential synergy with Europe's longstanding emphasis on environmental standards and green regulation.

Beyond climate, poverty remains another shared global challenge, albeit one that manifests differently across societies.

"In parts of Europe, we see poverty that has passed three or four generations," Dessein said, noting that welfare systems are necessary to guarantee basic living standards, but it should not be confined to cash transfers alone. Financial assistance, while essential, must be combined with vocational training, educational support and pathways to employment that enable people to regain autonomy. Here, he suggested, Europe might draw lessons from China's poverty alleviation campaign, which emphasized building "hematopoietic" capacity — a metaphor for strengthening individuals' ability to generate sustainable income rather than relying solely on redistribution.

For Dessein, to deepen exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations should, therefore, be read not merely as a cultural slogan, but as a strategic orientation.

zhangzhouxiang@chinadaily.com.cn