President calls for dialogue between civilizations

President Xi Jinping emphasized the need for China and Egypt to jointly promote equality, dialogue, mutual learning and inclusiveness between civilizations during a visit to the Grand Egyptian Museum on Wednesday.

Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, toured the museum accompanied by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and his wife, Entissar El-Sisi, before leaving Cairo for Beijing.

The sprawling museum stands within sight of the Pyramids of Giza, and brings together some of the most important relics and artifacts from the ancient Egyptian civilization. Cultural exchanges between China and Egypt have flourished in recent years, from major exhibitions of ancient Egyptian artifacts in China to joint archaeological projects in Egypt.

El-Sisi and his wife extended a warm welcome to Xi and Peng upon their arrival at the museum. They entered the main hall of the museum together and posed for a photo in front of the colossal monolith of King Ramesses II, before listening to an introduction to the museum and the history of ancient Egypt.

They admired the exquisite stone statues, inscribed stone columns and a pyramidion from a temple, before stopping at the observation deck to take in the view of the pyramids in the distance.

Xi and El-Sisi also visited the Tutankhamun Galleries, where they appreciated prized collections including the pharaoh's world-famous gold burial mask, gold throne and war chariots.

Noting that China and Egypt are both ancient civilizations and countries rich in World Heritage sites, Xi said that across time and space, the two civilizations have been reaching out to each other and writing new chapters of everlasting friendship between the two peoples.

Xi called on the two countries to uphold the vision of civilization based on equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness, and implement the Global Civilization Initiative. He also urged both sides to promote inclusiveness, coexistence and mutual learning among different civilizations, thereby drawing greater strength from civilizations to advance the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.

El-Sisi thanked Xi for sending a congratulatory message on the opening of the museum in Giza in November last year.

He noted that ancient Egyptian and Chinese civilizations share the qualities of openness, inclusiveness and harmonious coexistence amid diversity, which closely aligns with the vision of the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by Xi.

Egypt stands ready to strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges with China, promote mutual learning among civilizations, and help make the world more harmonious and inclusive, he said.