Youth exchanges should play a greater role in enhancing mutual understanding among countries and help bring hope to a fragmented world shaped by unilateralism, regional conflicts and geopolitical tensions, participants at a youth dialogue in Beijing said on Tuesday.
The event, titled “Youth Dialogue: Gen Z Power and New Hope”, was organized by the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and attended by more than 120 young representatives from 14 countries, including the United Kingdom, Mauritania, Comoros, Algeria and Morocco.
Grace Valks, a project manager at the Great Britain-China Center, said avoiding misunderstandings is crucial when collaborating on shared global challenges.
“We have indeed grown up in an uncertain world. We’ve seen financial instability, a global pandemic, ongoing conversations about climate change and geopolitical tensions,” Valks said. “Because the challenges that we face today are not contained within borders, these shared problems require shared solutions. And collaboration becomes much more possible when there is understanding and trust.”
She said Generation Z has grown up sharing ideas, cultures and conversations across borders through social media, travel, studying abroad and exposure to foreign films and television, giving them greater access to other cultures.
“When we talk about new hope, I don’t think it’s something Gen Z is simply waiting for. It’s something we’re building,” she said. “We build it through curiosity by choosing to understand people who are different from us. We build it through resilience by continuing even when things become uncertain. We build it through connection by recognizing that our futures are more shared than separate.”
Rastami Mouhidine, executive secretary of the Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros in Anjouan and coordinator of government action there, said he hopes young people in China and Comoros will deepen mutual understanding through stronger exchanges.
Mouhidine, who led a 15-member delegation on a 10-day visit to China from April 20, said he was impressed by the stops in Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong province, as well as Beijing. He and his delegation composed a song describing the “brotherly” relationship between Comoros and China and performed it after the meeting.
“Everywhere we went, we felt the friendship, respect and sincere hope to strengthen the relationship between China and Comoros,” Mouhidine said. “Although our two countries are geographically distant, we have always been close at heart, respecting each other and developing together.”
Abderrahmane Mohamed, head of media affairs at the Office of the President of Mauritania, said youth exchanges represent the future of relations between Arab states and China, carrying hope and potential.
He called for expanding exchanges between China and Arab nations to build a strong bridge of understanding and cooperation and make them an important part of Arab-China relations.
Liu Haixing, head of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, encouraged young people across China and abroad to act as pioneers with a global vision to address development gaps and promote shared prosperity, as well as guardians of common security to foster lasting peace.
He also urged the youth to promote open and inclusive dialogue to support harmonious coexistence among civilizations and to participate in equal consultations to improve global governance.
caodesheng@chinadaily.com.cn
