Xi: Build modern Chinese civilization

President Xi Jinping on Friday underlined the importance of shouldering new cultural missions and building a modern Chinese civilization.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at a symposium on cultural inheritance and development at the Chinese Academy of History in Beijing.

He said it is important to firm up self-confidence in culture, adhere to China's own path, use Chinese wisdom to summarize Chinese experience and transform it into Chinese theory in order to achieve spiritual independence and autonomy.

Xi said China's excellent traditional culture has many important elements that jointly shaped Chinese civilization with inherent continuity, unity, inclusiveness and peacefulness.

Noting that Chinese civilization is continuous, Xi said it is inevitable that the Chinese nation will follow its own path, be committed to preserving its traditions without sticking to the past, and be willing to undertake new challenges.

It is impossible to understand ancient China, let alone modern and future China, without an understanding of China's long-standing historical continuity, he said.

The prominent unity of Chinese civilization determines that national unity will always be at the heart of China's core interests and the fate of all ethnic groups depends on a strong and united country, he said.

Xi said different religious beliefs coexist in harmony in China and Chinese culture is open-minded to other civilizations in the world.

He also said that China opposes confrontation, refuses to engage in "small-clique" politics and will never impose its own values and political system on others, and this is determined by the peaceful nature of the time-honored Chinese civilization.

The nation will always be a force for world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of international order, he said.

Xi also urged efforts to uphold openness and inclusiveness, adapt Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of our times, carry forward and develop excellent traditional Chinese culture, promote the localization of foreign cultures, and cultivate and build socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the new era.

According to Xi, combining Marxism both with China's specific conditions and traditional Chinese culture is the most effective instrument for China's success in exploring the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Combining Marxism with traditional Chinese culture demonstrates that the Party has reached new heights in its understanding of the Chinese path, theory and system, and that the Party's confidence in history and culture has reached a new level, he said.

Prior to the symposium, Xi visited the China National Archives of Publications and Culture on Thursday afternoon. He said the construction of the archives center is an infrastructure project for building China into a leading country in culture and also a landmark project that can benefit future generations.

Noting that China now enjoys prosperity, social peace and stability, he said the country is willing to and is capable of carrying forward Chinese civilization, the only uninterrupted civilization in the world, and it must do a good job in this regard.

When visiting the Chinese Academy of History on Friday, Xi emphasized the important role of archaeology in understanding the long history of Chinese civilization and appreciating the richness and profoundness of Chinese culture.

Work must be done to carry out comprehensive studies of the origin and early development of Chinese civilization, implement major archaeological projects and conduct research and interpretation of the origins of Chinese civilization, he said.

Xi also encouraged researchers at the academy to work with their counterparts across the country and contribute their wisdom and efforts to the advancement of Chinese modernization.