Study On The Roles Of The Principle Of Respect Between Civilizations To China-Middle East BRI Cooperation

The year 2023 marks the tenth anniversary of President Xi Jinping’s “The Belt and Road Initiative”.The economic and trade relations between China and other countries along the route have developed rapidly.In addition to these achievements,domestic and international research on the Belt and Road has also flourished,either from the economic perspective of comparative advantages in terms of resource endowments and capacity transfer,or from the perspective of geostrategy.Although scholars at home and abroad also emphasize the perspective of civilization and culture,on the whole,such studies are not deep enough and not specific enough.Based on the previous studies,this paper aims to further explore the role of mutual respect among civilisations,as advocated by China,in promoting and safeguarding the construction of the “The Belt and Road Initiative” in the Middle East.The concept of civilisation is extremely macro,but at its core are values.Specifically,civilisation in this paper consists of three aspects: firstly,a system of values arising from specific historical and geographical conditions;secondly,habits and customs based on a specific system of values;and thirdly,a political system formed on the basis of a system of values.In the case of the West and the Middle East,Christianity and Islam respectively constitute important sources of their value systems;in the case of China,traditional values such as Confucianism and the spiritual achievements of the contemporary socialist construction process are important sources.Mutual respect between civilisations is deeply rooted in China’s traditional culture,which is distinctly different from that of the West,and is one of the important manifestations of the diplomatic theory of Chinese characteristics,which contains extremely rich connotations.Its manifestation in contemporary Chinese diplomacy mainly includes respecting,appreciating and humbly learning from the achievements of other civilisations,respecting religions and customs related to religions,respecting the political systems and development paths of countries,and opposing the association of terrorism with specific religions.Respect between civilisations has contributed positively to the construction of China’s“ The Belt and Road Initiative”,mainly because it has facilitated the formation of friends and partners,and the construction of common interests.The Middle Eastern countries,with Islam as their basic civilizational attribute,have long faced a respect deficit due to many historical feuds and the interaction between the colonial and the colonised,contemporary power politics and the opposition to power politics,as well as the "demonisation" by the West in the war on terror.The important results of China’s “ The Belt and Road Initiative”cooperation with the Middle East countries are due to a combination of factors,but the principle of mutual respect between civilisations that China upholds has undoubtedly played an important role.The cooperation between China and Egypt around the Sino-Egyptian TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone and the enhancement of economic and trade relations are largely due to the principle of respect between civilisations that China has long practised.The respect for Islam embodied by Zhou Enlai and the other diplomats of the old generation at the Bandung Conference remains an important factor in defining SinoEgyptian relations,which have remained stable since 2011,despite repeated regime changes in Egypt and China’s adherence to the principle of non-interference in internal affairs.The positive results achieved by China and Iran in terms of policy communication,trade flows,financial flows,infrastructure connectivity and people-to-people contacts despite the US sanctions against Iran are due in large part to China’s respect for the political system chosen by Iran and its adherence to the principle of non-interference in internal affairs,in stark contrast to the West.Respect between civilisations is not only the essence of the "Belt and Road" construction,but also an important contributing factor to the important results achieved in the "Belt and Road" construction,and should be an important principle to be actively practised in the future "Belt and Road" construction.It should also be an important principle to be actively practised in the future construction of the Belt and Road.This diplomatic theory with Chinese characteristics is particularly important for China’s cooperation with Middle Eastern countries,which have long faced a respect deficit,and China still needs to continue to explore the connotation and realisation of mutual respect between civilisations in order to better serve the construction of “The Belt and Road Initiative”.