With the international trading order in tatters, the debate over globalization is front and center. To make heads or tails of the uncertainty and looming conflict, it is necessary to look at it through the prism of philosophy and history. Back in China's Warring States Period before the Qin Dynasty, all sorts of thoughts and leadership battled for dominance. Confucianism then was the idea whose time has come. Fast forward to modern times, in a way more complex world, could ancient Chinese philosophy help shed some light? 

As the Conference on Dialogue of Civilization took place in Beijing on Wednesday, CGTN Senior Correspondent Tian Wei talked to Professor Tu Weiming, one of the most famous Chinese Confucian thinkers.  

"One of the ideas in the Confucian tradition is that from the emperor to the commoner, each should regard self-cultivation as the root," Tu said. "How can I be a reasonable human being? How can I be a friend to others? Those ideas of self-improvement are starting from each individual. It is a rich resource for the human community." 

Tu believes the idea of self-cultivation is not out-of-date; it is still relevant. According to him, the concept of self-cultivation is not only rooted in Confucian but also in Christianity and Islam. If people want to understand themselves, first of all, they need to be serious about self-cultivation and self-reflection. 

He also mentioned the principle of "don't do unto others what you don't want others to do unto you", which is a golden rule. It is to see the minimum requirement for human interaction; others are not only receiving the recognition but respect. In this case, it is easy to be a public-spirited, open and dynamic person. 

When it comes to the topic of confidence and arrogance, Tu said the two are really in conflict, "Confidence is basically about inner strength, and again I returned to the idea of cultivation. The cultivation is a way of understanding who I am, even though I failed to perform well in some other areas, but it always has a possibility of recharging the energy. But also recognizing this is not my privilege, this is my responsibility to know other people deserve the same kinds of respect. Therefore you know how you will be able to learn the best from all over the world; at the same time, you have some confidence that your direction is correct. Those two are interconnected, if they are separate, you will lose not only your confidence but also your ability to learn and relearn," he said.