BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Difference in system should not be the ground for antagonism or confrontation, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Sunday.
Progress of human civilization cannot be achieved with only one pathway, nor should there be only one model, Wang said at a press conference when asked to comment on worries that the competition of ideologies and systems between China and Western countries like the United States may leave the world divided.
Whether a path works for a country depends on how it fits the country's conditions, Wang said. "Choice of system should be made in a tailor-made way, rather than through trimming the feet to fit in the shoes."
To smear or attack others for their different systems or even claim superiority is in essence "hegemony of system", Wang said.
"Our world cannot afford to fall apart, still less return to conflicts," the minister warned.
China firmly believes that diversity is the integral feature of human civilization, and difference in system should not be the ground for antagonism or confrontation, he said.
Exchanges and mutual learning can enhance mutual understanding and promote common progress, Wang said.
"In Chinese culture, seeking harmony without uniformity is a philosophy of the virtuous. Western culture values respect as a quality of a gentleman," he said, adding that countries should treat each other with mutual respect and inclusiveness so as to prosper respectively and together. Enditem
