Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, attends the opening ceremony of the 2023 Beijing Culture Forum and delivers a speech in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

The 2023 Beijing Culture Forum opened on Thursday in Beijing, and it received a congratulatory letter from President Xi Jinping.

The letter was read out by Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, at the opening ceremony.

Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech.

Speaking at the event, Cai said Xi's congratulatory letter vividly demonstrates China's firm determination and policy stance to adhere to the Global Civilization Initiative, strengthen cultural exchanges with the rest of the world, and jointly promote cultural prosperity and development.

He emphasized the need to take the spirit of the congratulatory letter as a guide, develop modern Chinese civilization, promote exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, and inject profound and lasting cultural strength into the endeavor to build a community with a shared future for humanity.

Cai stressed the importance of self-confidence and self-reliance, vigorously promoting the outstanding traditional Chinese culture, systematically protecting historical and cultural heritage, and nurturing the spiritual strength to achieve national rejuvenation.

He called for promoting openness and inclusiveness, mutual respect, and harmonious coexistence among different civilizations.

Cai added that China will work together with the international community to promote common values of humanity and strive to open up new horizons for people-to-people exchanges, connectivity and cultural integration worldwide.

He expressed hopes that the Beijing Culture Forum will achieve fruitful results and serve as a first-class platform to promote cultural exchanges and deepen mutual learning among civilizations.

The 2023 Beijing Culture Forum was jointly hosted by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and the Beijing municipal government.

Officials from central and local publicity and cultural units, renowned experts, scholars, writers, artists, industry leaders, as well as international political figures and heads of international cultural organizations attended the forum.