TheGlobal Civilization Initiative (GCI,Chinese:全球文明倡议) is a diplomatic initiative of thePeople's Republic of China presented byXi Jinping in 2023. It complements theGlobal Security Initiative (GSI) and theGlobal Development Initiative (GDI) and serves to establish amultipolar world order and to "seek progress for humanity and harmony for the entire world".[1]
In March 2023, Chinese president Xi Jinping presented the initiative in a speech inBeijing, which is largely based on histhought on diplomacy.[2]
As steps to implement its initiative, China began to expandyouth exchange programs and to grantvisa-free entry to citizens of a number of countries to strengthen itssoft power. In addition toThailand, theMaldives and theUnited Arab Emirates, these also included Western countries such asFrance,Germany andItaly.[3]
Western think tanks such as theAtlantic Council interpreted the initiative as an attempt to replace the “universal values” propagated by Western states, such asdemocracy andhuman rights, with absolutenational sovereignty and “traditional values”.[1] TheHeritage Foundation saw China's positioning as part of a global “cultural war” in which initiatives such as the GCI are intended to help it to win over theglobal south and to achieve its own “cultural hegemony” over a West that the Chinese leadership views as decadent.[4] An opinion piece inThe Diplomat noted that Xi's proclaimed rejection of aggressive hegemony does not fit with China's policies towards its neighbors in theSouth China Sea, nor does itspersecution of Uyghurs with its professed “respect for diversity.”[5]
Chinese state media responded to the initiative with the enthusiasm that could be expected. TheGlobal Times, for example, dedicated a series of articles titled “Xivilization”, alluding to Xi Jinping'sfamily name.[6] The initiative has been well received in some global south countries. The PakistaniInstitute of Strategic Studies Islamabad called it “important idea aimed at shaping the future for a better world”.[7]
