Chinese President Xi Jinping has delivered the keynote speech at the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations. Xi outlined the potential for a new pan-Asian mentality to shape the wider world by fostering the elements necessary to promote peace through prosperity.

Today's Asia represents a convergence of past and future as civilizations with ancient roots are embracing modern economic models driven by young educated populations. The 21st century itself is already being defined as an Asian century. While Europe's global influence declined after the 19th century and while African civilizations look to adopt modern Asian developmental models in order to achieve success, Asia remains at the forefront of innovation and economic modernization.

Although the enemies of Asian unity and social harmony have in the past exploited the differences between great Asian cultures as a means of dissuading peoples from cooperation, Xi turned this argument around by emphasizing culture as an important foundation on which other forms of cooperation can be built.

In an age where certain nations are actively promoting a unilateral vision of global relations, Xi's words offered a refreshing shift in tone. In his speech, Xi rejected both the 19th-century model of some cultures dominating others and also rejected a 20th-century model that sought unity through forced dilution of traditions.

Xi's approach to global cultural matters is a healthy alternative to both the unilateral mentality that leads to clashes between cultures and also the notion that in order to create peace, one needs to relinquish one's identity. Xi embraces strong cultural identities that are strengthened through cooperation and peaceful exchange. Beyond this, it is connectivity that helps others to discover the strengths and important characteristics of neighborly cultures across an ever more interconnected Asia.

Although economic connectivity is a major theme across initiatives for greater global economic development, for China, cultural connectivity has always been an indispensable element of this equation. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) stresses these cultural ties as a means of creating not only trust and peace but also education and enlightenment between national partners on a multilateral and respectful basis.

Xi's speech on Asian unity therefore serves as an important benchmark for the kinds of goals that China strives for when building respectful relations with countries across Asia. This model also applies to international connectivity between Asia and partners in Africa, Europe and the Americas.

The creation of peace requires two equally important elements. First, one must build foundations for sustainable prosperity through coordinated economic development. Simultaneously, countries should exchange knowledge about their unique histories, traditions, arts, sport, literature and social customs in order to bolster peace through human-centric connectivity.

For human beings, the world is not a database nor is it a trade summit. For us, life is the combination of unique experiences that shape daily life and enrich the mind over the years. Too often, political leadership neglects this important aspect of human development which is why it was highly important for Xi to dedicate a major speech and a major conference to these issues.

Xi's solution is to build a community of nations free from both isolation and exploitation. He further rejected the provocative notion that conflict is the natural state of civilizational encounters. Xi emphasized that harmony is the natural state of great civilizations while this global harmony can best result from pooling the strength of these civilizations and cultures together.

Some leaders consistently warn of conflict or otherwise try to provoke it, but Xi's leadership focuses on the most effective and sustainable ways to create peace. As more people throughout the world become familiar with this mentality and with the Asian consensus that multiple partners are working to build, the rest of the world can utilize these methods to both enhance the vitality of their own cultures while building bridges of cooperation with others.

Such cooperation when done in a spirit of joy and mutual respect will help to alter the wider global dynamic. As such, phrases associated with multinational forums such as "conflict resolution" can gradually be replaced by "mechanisms for cooperation."

Respect and trust can help to build cultural bridges which form a part of a human-to-human infrastructure that compliments the traditional models of infrastructural cooperation between countries and continents.

For those whose lives have been depressed due to conflict, hostility, fear or isolation, Xi offers a path towards renewal, enlightenment, prosperity and peace for a world that is going to be ever more interconnected in future decades. It is up to people whether they wish to use this interconnectivity for constructive or destructive purposes. Xi's guidance can help others choose the path toward constructive cooperation which can pave the way for genuine world peace based on solid foundations.