On the afternoon of July 10, 2025, the Global Civilizations Dialogue Ministerial Meeting opened in Beijing. Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee Li Shulei read out President Xi Jinping's congratulatory message at the opening ceremony. Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee Cai Qi attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech.

Cai Qi said that President Xi Jinping attaches great importance to this meeting and sent a congratulatory message. The message was lofty in vision and profound in thought, pointing out the direction for the upcoming civilization dialogue. More than two years ago, President Xi Jinping solemnly proposed the Global Civilization Initiative, which has received an enthusiastic response and active support from the international community. The Global Civilization Initiative emphasizes that civilizations are diverse, advocating harmony in diversity and mutual appreciation for common progress; that civilizations are interconnected, promoting shared commitment and advancing along the path of common development; that civilizations are evolving, encouraging people to understand where they come from and chart a course for the future; and that civilizations are inclusive, advocating dialogue, cooperation, mutual understanding, and affinity.

Cai Qi pointed out that the Global Civilization Initiative is rooted in fine traditional Chinese culture. Its core essence is to seek common ground while reserving differences and to achieve harmonious coexistence, echoing the multicultural integration and coexistence philosophies held by many countries around the world and aligning closely with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter. Over the past two years, the ideas and propositions of the Global Civilization Initiative have increasingly become a global consensus and have been translated into vivid exploration and practice.

Cai Qi emphasized that amid the accelerating profound changes unseen in a century, the calls of people worldwide for peace, development, and cooperation are growing stronger. However, rhetoric such as "estrangement of civilizations", "clashes of civilizations", and "feelings of superiority of civilizations" occasionally resurfaces. The task of safeguarding the diversity of civilizations and promoting world peace and development remains arduous. Standing at a new historical crossroads, it is necessary to jointly strengthen the exploration of diversified development paths to continuously enrich the forms of human civilization; strengthen cultural inheritance and innovation and actively promote the protection of cultural heritage and the development of cultural undertakings; deepen people-to-people exchanges among countries and foster an atmosphere for exchanges, mutual learning, and harmonious coexistence; and enhance platform and mechanism building to promote the establishment of a diversified, multidimensional global network for dialogue and cooperation among civilizations.

The meeting, themed "Safeguarding Diversity of Human Civilizations for World Peace and Development", was jointly organized by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and the International Department of the CPC Central Committee. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres sent a congratulatory letter to the meeting. More than 600 people from politics, culture, and education sectors of about 140 countries and regions attended the opening ceremony.

At the opening ceremony, former Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri, former Namibian President Nangolo Mbumba, former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, and former Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme delivered speeches successively. They expressed that respecting the diversity of civilizations and jointly promoting world peace and development are major issues concerning the future and destiny of humanity. The Global Civilization Initiative has injected stability and certainty into the world. All countries should work together to continue the civilization legacy through candid exchanges and mutual learning and build a better future.

Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee Yin Li and State Councilor Shen Yiqin attended the opening ceremony.