A single flower does not make spring, while one hundred flowers in full blossom bring spring to a garden.
This is a saying collected in Gu Jin Xian Wen (Proverbs Ancient and Contemporary): A single flower does not make spring, while one hundred flowers in full blossom bring spring to a garden. The garden is too dull if there is only a single flower, however beautiful.
Xi Jinping has used this old, popular saying to describe exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations and common development around the world. He quoted it again in his keynote speech at the opening of the First China International Import Expo in November 2018. He said: In a world of deepening economic globalization, practices of the law of the jungle and winner-takes-all only represent a dead end. Inclusive growth for all is surely the right way forward.
In the new era, China champions equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness between civilizations, follows the principle of achieving shared growth through consultation and collaboration in global governance, opens its arms wider to embrace the world, and contributes the dynamic achievements of the Chinese civilization to a better world. This is a good example of how it puts this centuries-old belief into practice.
一花独放不是春，百花齐放春满园
“一花独放不是春，百花齐放春满园”，出自《古今贤文》，意为只有一支花朵开放，不能算是春天来临，而到了百花齐放的时候，才是真正的春色满园。引申为如果世界上只有一种花朵，那么就算这种花朵再美，也是单调的。
习近平在论述文明交流互鉴和全球共同发展时，多次引用“一花独放不是春，百花齐放春满园”。2018年11月，习近平在第一届中国国际进口博览会开幕式上的主旨演讲中引用这一古语，指出在经济全球化深入发展的今天，弱肉强食、赢者通吃是一条越走越窄的死胡同，包容普惠、互利共赢才是越走越宽的人间正道。事实上，新时代的中国秉持平等、互鉴、对话、包容的文明观和共商共建共享的全球治理观，以更加开放的姿态拥抱世界，以更有活力的文明成就贡献世界，就是对这一理念的弘扬和践行。