'The true art of war is the art of stopping wars'

"Each civilization is the crystallization of human creation, and each is beautiful in its own way," Xi Jinping once said. "Civilizations don't have to clash with each other; what is needed are the eyes to see the beauty in all civilizations."

Xi Jinping is a staunch champion of dialogues between civilizations, which he believes can promote mutual learning and harmonious coexistence among countries.

During a state visit to Greece in 2019, Xi visited the Acropolis Museum in Athens. Xi stopped to appreciate the relief of the "Pensive Athena", the goddess of warfare and wisdom in Greek mythology.

"She is thinking what wars are truly for," Xi told then Greek president Prokopis Pavlopoulos, who accompanied him on the trip. Xi went on to cite a Chinese proverb that goes in the same vein of advocating peace: the true art of war is the art of stopping wars.

As Xi pointed out, diversity of civilizations should not be a source of global conflict; rather, it should be an engine driving the advance of human civilizations.