Exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations should be reciprocal and equal, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged on Wednesday in a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilization in Beijing. 

They should be diversified and multi-directional, rather than compulsory or coercive. Also, they should not be single or one-way, Xi went on. 

Xi noted that all living organisms need a metabolism or life will stop, and civilization as well. If a country is closed to itself for a long time, it is bound to decline, he explained. 

Exchanges and mutual learning are essential to the development of civilizations, he added. Only through exchanges and mutual learning with other civilizations can people maintain their vigor and vitality.

We should break down the barriers of cultural exchanges with an open mind, draw on the nutrients of other civilizations with an inclusive attitude, and promote the common progress of Asian civilizations through exchanges and mutual learning, Xi said. 

He called for respecting the beauty of other civilizations and building a more wonderful future together.