"Peace and security are what the international community should treasure the most," said Chinese President Xi Jinping during his video call Friday with U.S. President Joe Biden, referring to the current situation in Ukraine.
This statement embodies the peace-loving cultural tradition of the Chinese nation, as an old saying goes "peace is precious."
Excerpted from the Confucian classic "The Analects of Confucius," which dates back more than 2,000 years, the proverb is still very much relevant today.
Xi cited the proverb in 2017 when he spoke at the United Nations Office in Geneva, noting the Chinese people firmly believe that peace and stability is the only way to development and prosperity.
On other occasions, Xi also cited similar ancient proverbs on upholding peace including "replacing weapons of war with gifts of jade and silk" and "seeking harmony without uniformity."
Peace is a hallmark of China's foreign policy. Xi has stressed on many occasions that the country will never seek hegemony.
China will stick to the path of peaceful development, actively pursue global partnerships, firmly support multilateralism, and take an active part in reforming the global governance system, Xi said in 2018 at the Boao Forum for Asia.
With concrete actions, China has shown to the world that it is resolute and sincere in contributing to the building of a new type of international relations based on mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation, and of a community with a shared future for humanity.