China's ancient wisdom on clashes of civilizations

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04:29

It's always helpful to know more about the culture behind the words when learning another language. So, for those of you who want to learn Chinese, CGTN has prepared some phrases that give insight into the ideology and culture of the Chinese people.

A few weeks ago, the U.S. State Department's director of policy planning, Kiron Skinner, said at a forum that the conflict between China and the U.S. "is a fight with a different civilization, a different ideology, and the United States hadn't had that before."

"In China, we have an economic competitor, we have an ideological competitor, one that really seeks global reach that many of us didn't expect a couple of years ago. I think it's also striking that it's the first time that we will have a great power competitor that is not Caucasian," said Skinner.

This viewpoint of setting different civilizations against each other soon backfired both within and outside the U.S. In a world that flourishes based on the diversity of cultures and civilizations, treating another civilization as a threat contradicts our universal values.

However, in coping with the diversity of civilizations, the ancient Chinese had already found an answer hundreds of years ago. And we would like to introduce you to it in this episode of Let's Learn Some Chinese!

On-camera reporter: Li Jingjing

Scriptwriter: Li Jingjing

Filmed by: Qi Jianqiang

Video Editor: Qi Jianqiang

Animation: Qi Jianqiang, Lei La

Copy Editor: John Goodrich

Producer: Wen Yaru

Chief Editor: Lin Dongwei

Supervisor: Pang Xinhua