CPS played a prominent role at the International Academic Symposium on Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, held at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou. The symposium, guided by the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Culture and co-organized by the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee, brought together scholars and cultural leaders from across the globe to explore the theme “Promoting Cultural Prosperity Through Mutual Learning Among Civilizations.”
The opening ceremony featured senior figures including Huang Kunming (Member of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau and Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee) and Hong Dayong (Vice Minister of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee). Their remarks, together with those of Fu Hua (President of Xinhua News Agency), Gao Song (President of Sun Yat-sen University), and Zhang Zhiqiang (Director of the Institute of Philosophy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences), set the tone for the symposium.
CPS Executive Director Dr. Andrew Schwartz (pictured right) with scholars at the International Academic Symposium on Xi Jinping Thought on Culture
Dr. Andrew Schwartz, Executive Director of CPS, delivered a plenary address titled “The Past as Future: Chinese Traditional Culture and Process Thought for Ecological Civilization.” He argued that Western modernization is in crisis—facing inequality, ecological breakdown, and a crisis of meaning—and proposed Alfred North Whitehead’s process philosophy as a bridge between Chinese traditions and modern scientific sensibilities.
Drawing on concepts such as Tian-Ren He Yi (heaven–earth–human harmony), Daoist wu wei (effortless action), Buddhist interdependence, and Confucian li and ren, Dr. Schwartz showed how these resources resonate with process-relational thought to guide the transition toward an ecological civilization. He concluded by connecting this vision to President Xi Jinping’s call for a “Second Integration”—weaving China’s excellent traditional culture together with modernization to chart a new path for the future.
Report booklet from the Xinhua Institute on “Theory on the Development of Civilizations: Building a New Vision of Civilizations with Development at the Core”
The symposium also marked the release of a new report by the Xinhua Institute, “Theory on the Development of Civilizations: Building a New Vision of Civilizations with Development at the Core,” which underscored the broader theoretical framework guiding discussions.
For CPS, participation in this symposium reflects its mission to advance cross-cultural scholarship and to promote constructive alternatives for global flourishing. Such collaborations reflect CPS’s increasing visibility in global academic forums, particularly as a leading voice at the intersection of philosophy and ecological civilization. By advancing conversations like this, CPS is helping shape pathways toward more just, sustainable, and cooperative forms of global development.
Jared Morningstar is an independent scholar living in Chicago with academic interests in philosophy of religion, Islamic studies, comparative religion, metamodern spirituality, and interfaith dialogue. Their work in these areas seeks to offer robust responses to issues of inter-religious conflict, contemporary nihilism, and the “meaning crisis,” among other things. Jared graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in 2018 with degrees in religion and Scandinavian studies and currently works for the Center for Process Studies and the Psychedelic Medicine Association.