Under the guidance of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, the Nishan Forum on Overseas Chinese was hosted in Qufu on the afternoon of September 26 by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Shandong Provincial People’s Government and the Jining Municipal People’s Government. The theme of the forum was the active role of overseas Chinese in promoting the spread of Chinese civilization and the exchange and mutual learning between Chinese and foreign civilizations. More than 70 overseas Chinese representatives, experts and scholars from 23 countries and regions attended the forum. Conducted both online and offline, the forum consisted of speeches and discussions on a number of topics, including the exchange and mutual learning between civilizations, innovative development of civilizations, the root and origin-tracing of overseas Chinese, and reflections on and countermeasures for the post-epidemic era.

According to the forum, overseas Chinese are a unique precious source of China and serve as an important bridge facilitating international communication. As the world is undergoing changes unprecedented in the past 100 years, a critical moment when understanding and dialogue are needed most by Chinese and western civilizations, overseas Chinese as Chinese descendants have the responsibility and are willing to serve as a bridge to contribute to dialogues between civilizations and tell the stories of Chinese civilization. It is hoped that the scholars and overseas Chinese attending the event will communicate with and learn from each other to promote excellent traditional Chinese culture, in particular Confucian culture, so that they can benefit humanity together with other cultures, and that they will help Chinese culture “go global,”allowing the world to know Shandong and China, and allowing friends with different skin colors and different beliefs speaking different languages to appreciate the charm of Chinese civilization. Let’s work hand in hand to create a future to “please people nearby”and “attract people afar”and to gather forces for the high-quality development of Shandong.