Over 50 scholars, experts, and government representatives from nearly 10 countries gathered in the Macao Special Administrative Region this week for the International Forum on Mutual Learning Among Civilizations 2025. The event spotlighted Macao’s historical legacy as a cultural crossroads and its contemporary relevance in global cooperation.
Macao’s Legacy of Harmonious Exchange
Wu Zhiliang, president of the Committee of Administration of the Macao Foundation, traced Macao’s 470-year history as a port where Eastern and Western civilizations intertwined organically. “Macao’s story is not one of cultural conquest, but of sustained adaptation and coexistence,” he stated, highlighting how commerce and daily interactions fostered mutual understanding long before modern globalization.
China’s Modernization Path in Focus
Zheng Yongnian, dean of the School of Public Policy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Shenzhen, emphasized that China’s development model succeeds by integrating global practices with domestic cultural foundations. “Modernization cannot be a copy-paste exercise,” he noted, underscoring China’s commitment to sharing development experiences while pursuing a community with a shared future for mankind.
The forum comes as Macao prepares to mark the 26th anniversary of its return to China this December 20, reinforcing its role in facilitating cross-cultural dialogue aligned with national development strategies.
