Ugandan symposium explores China’s Global Civilization Initiative

Summary:

• At a symposium in Kampala, policymakers and experts advocated for embracing China’s Global Civilization Initiative (GCI) concept, asserting that the Western world should respect diverse civilizations and promote mutual cooperation instead of imposing development paths on developing countries, amidst concerns over external pressure on Uganda’s development plans.

KAMPALA, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) — Policymakers, government officials and experts attended a symposium here Wednesday, during which they said the Western world should embrace China’s Global Civilization Initiative (GCI) concept instead of lecturing developing countries on how to address their internal matters and choose their development path.

The symposium on China-Uganda cooperation was held under the theme “The Harmony of Civilization and Prosperity for All: Commitments and Responsibilities for a Better World.”

The GCI, which was proposed in March this year, advocates respect for the diversity of civilizations, upholds the common values of humanity, underpins the importance of inheritance and innovation of civilizations, and promotes people-to-people exchanges worldwide.

The symposium took place at a time when certain countries are exerting pressure on developing countries regarding their development plans, merely because the developing countries’ development paths are different from theirs, said Ugandan Vice President Jessica Alupo in a message read on her behalf by Rukia Nakadama, third deputy prime minister and minister without portfolio.

Zhang Lizhong, Chinese ambassador to Uganda, said the GCI sends out a call for mutual respect, equality, exchange and cooperation among civilizations, and stands firmly against civilization supremacy and cultural hegemony and encroachment.

Several Ugandan government officials and members of parliament are facing U.S. sanctions over the country’s enactment of the anti-homosexuality law. The World Bank also withheld new funding because of the controversial law.

“As we look at Uganda today, with sanctions being applied on us, we need to know who our friends are and how we should plan our economy,” said Allen Kagina, executive director of Uganda National Roads Authority.

Timothy Kersewell, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen), said China has demonstrated that for a country to develop, it does not have to follow the Western philosophy of development but rather its own path, picking lessons from others.

“There are several thoughts on how to develop. It is your job to have a system that leads to development, China has proved this. You don’t have to necessarily follow the Western thought in order to develop,” Kersewell said.

The symposium was organized by Sino-Uganda Research Center, a local think tank, and China Alumni Association Uganda, an association that brings together former students who studied in China.  ■