On the outset, may I congratulate the organiser for their proactiveness and farsightedness in hosting this Asian Civilization Dialogue shortly after the successful consensus building at the Belt and Road Forum (BRF).Historically, Asia had been the cradle of several great civilizations, among which include that of Yellow River, Indus River, Euphrates & Tigris Rivers, just to cite a few.Despite that Asian cultures have never been homogenous, cultural diversity is not necessarily the root cause for stoking clash of civilizations so long as the wisdom of “harmony in diversity” (和而不同) prevails.To my understanding, this wisdom has long been in the DNA of Chinese philosophy since ancient times.In addition to this, it also teaches us to appreciate and coexist with the cultures of others for the sake of nurturing harmony. This is well defined in the Chinese philosophical quote, which literally means:各美其美，Treasure one’s culture美人之美，Appreciate cultures of others美美与共，Co-exist in diversity天下大同。The world be harmoniousThis wisdom was echoed by the great Indian literary icon Rabindranath Tagore in 1924 when he made his visit to China. He had this to say:“...Let us unite, not in spite of differences but through them. For differences can never be wiped away and life would be so much the poorer without them. Let all human races keep their own personalities and yet come together, not in a uniformity that is dead, but in a unity that is living.”This great wisdom of nurturing “unity in diversity” through co-existence has time and again proven relevant, even in the present complexity of global dynamics. A case in point is the BRI implementation which is now transcontinental and trans-civilization.Cognizant of this, conceivably the BRI is non-confrontational, let alone predatory in nature as had been repeatedly demonized by its skeptics.This portrays a far bigger picture than the notion of “prosper- thy- neighbours” which many of us might be familiar with, as it is not just an endeavour embracing near neighbours in the name of good neighbourliness.The Asian Civilization Dialogue, set to be a follow-up program of BRF, is indeed a well-designed endeavour to enhance multilateral acknowledgement, understanding and appreciation of the diverse Asian cultures. This inaugural event is an initiative of Track 2 diplomacy that is crucial in building mutual trust and appreciation among the BRI participating countries.I am hopeful to see this dialogue would trigger more extensive inter-civilization engagement within and outside Asia in times to come. By so doing, we are virtually striding a great step forward in shaping global peace through the avoidance of civilization clash in our age.