The first Golden Panda International Cultural Forum kicked off on Wednesday in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province in southwest China.

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, attended the event and announced its opening.

Jointly held by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the provincial government of Sichuan, the forum gathers over 300 guests from home and abroad, with in-depth discussions on topics such as implementing the Global Civilization Initiative.

Participants said that exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations serve as a vital impetus for their progress and world peace and development.

They also expressed that to carry out the Global Civilization Initiative, the common values shared by humanity should be faithfully upheld and promoted, stories of every kind of civilization should be well presented, and mutual understandings and people-to-people exchanges should be boosted.