The Islam-Confucianism Civilisational Dialogue 2026 was held in Beijing on April 16. Co-hosted by the International Confucian Association (ICA) and the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), the event was themed on "The Idea of Global Civilisation: Islamic and Confucian Perspectives".

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim delivered a video address at the opening ceremony. Sun Chunlan, president of the ICA, attended and spoke at the event. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, a member of the Parliament of Malaysia, spouse of the prime minister and former deputy prime minister, addressed the event via video link.

In his address, Anwar emphasized that the future of humanity cannot rest on economic growth or technological advancement alone, but must be grounded in ethical wisdom, cultural confidence and genuine respect among civilisations.

He noted that both Islamic civilisation and Confucian culture offer guidance that transcends time and space for fostering social harmony.

He expressed hope that dialogue and cooperation between the two civilisations would yield inspiring academic achievements, cultivate collective wisdom that integrates moral awareness into public life, and help build an inclusive world that values understanding and embraces differences.

Addressing the event, Sun noted that the Global Civilisation Initiative (GCI), proposed by China in March 2023, offers a Chinese solution to safeguarding the diversity of world civilisations and promoting the progress of human civilisation together with other nations.

Over the past three years, China has worked with the international community to translate the GCI from a Chinese proposal into a global consensus, and from a vision into concrete practice, she added.

Sun stated that the dialogue is both a concrete step in implementing the consensus reached by the leaders of China and Malaysia and a vivid practice of advancing the GCI and promoting mutual learning between two major civilisations.

She pointed out that, amid a period of intensified global turbulence and uncertainty, peace requires profound and enduring strength drawn from equal dialogue among civilisations. The history of exchanges and mutual learning between Confucian and Islamic civilisations — a model in the history of human civilisational exchanges — offers invaluable insights for enhancing dialogue and cooperation, and jointly addressing common challenges, she noted.

Sun called for deepening dialogue and cooperation between Confucian and Islamic civilisations, and building the dialogue into an important platform for civilisational exchanges between China and Malaysia and across the region.

She stressed the importance of fully implementing the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Dialogue between Confucian and Islamic Civilisations signed between the ICA and IIUM, improving working mechanisms, and actively integrating into the global network of civilisational dialogues and cooperation.

Sun also called for strengthening academic research that responds to real-world concerns and tapping into the intellectual resources of both civilisations, so as to contribute to building a community with a shared future for humanity and to produce high-quality academic outcomes.

Additionally, she highlighted the need to enrich the content of exchanges to foster deeper and broader people-to-people ties, with special attention to nurturing a younger generation committed to mutual learning among civilisations.

As an international academic and cultural organization active in 144 countries and regions, the ICA is dedicated to building bridges between civilisations and working with global partners to turn the GCI into concrete actions, Sun added.

Wan Azizah noted that the integration of Islamic civilisation and Confucian culture in daily life has shaped Malaysia's inclusive and harmonious society. Both the Islamic concept of "Ummah" and the Confucian idea of "Tianxia" (all under heaven) guide people to transcend narrow individualism and embrace broader responsibilities and moral order, she said.

She urged sustained efforts to promote civilisational dialogues and cooperation and draw wisdom from profound cultural traditions to advance world peace and development.

Also delivering speeches at the opening ceremony were Wang Xudong, director of the Palace Museum of China; Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil, director general of the Institute of Islamic Understanding of Malaysia; China’s Vice-Minister of Education Ren Youqun; and Norman Muhamad, Malaysian ambassador to China.

Hao Ping, executive vice-president of the ICA, presided over the opening ceremony.

The event was co-organized by Beijing Normal University, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing Language and Culture University, Minzu University of China, and the China Confucius Research Institute.

In addition to the opening ceremony and keynote speeches, the event featured three sub-forums and the China-Malaysia University Presidents' Roundtable. Discussions centered on the themes: "The Global Significance and Contemporary Value of the Islam-Confucianism Civilisational Dialogue", "Classical Translation and Ideological Interpretation of Islam and Confucianism", "Youth's Perspectives on Civilisation and Their Mission", and "Civilisational Exchanges, Mutual Learning, and Cultivating Talent with Global Competence".

Nearly 300 experts and scholars from 24 countries attended the event.