The Internet favors exchanges, mutual learning between civilizations

A visitor tries out an AR game at the booth of Chinese technology company Huawei during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) at the FIRA Gran Via exhibition center in Barcelona, ​​Spain, June 28, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Cheng)

XIAMEN, July 20 (XINHUA) – The mobile game “Tower of Fantasy”, developed by Beijing-based film and game company Perfect World, became a hit overseas last year. It has been the number one free download app on the Internet in more than 40 countries and regions, and ranked among the top 10 bestsellers in more than 30 countries and regions.

Its content, characters and scenery are all related to Chinese stories. Such commercial success will provide more opportunities for gamers from around the world to experience Chinese culture, Xiao Hong, CEO of Perfect World, said at the Forum on International Exchange and Mutual Learning Among Internet Civilizations.

The forum was part of the 2023 China Internet Civilization Conference, which opened on Tuesday in Xiamen city, east China’s Fujian province. About 800 people, including government officials, representatives of Internet companies and social organizations, experts and netizens attended the two-day event and exchanged views on Internet civilizations.

“Learning how to use the Internet as a vector to promote exchanges of experience and mutual learning among civilizations is crucial,” said Xiao, “We hope that more industry participants will work with us to promote Chinese culture and cross-border cultural exchanges to the world.”

William Brown, an American professor at Xiamen University, said that the Internet has changed people’s lives and its greatest potential lies in helping people overcome the barriers between people and countries.

“I like to joke that the Chinese didn’t have any money 30 years ago, and they still don’t have any money today. That’s because we use cell phones for almost everything. I haven’t used cash for years and everything I need will be delivered to my house, like science fiction. When I go to other countries and have to use cash and credit cards, I feel like I’m back 20 years ago,” said Brown.

Brown spoke about his experience of the impact of the Internet on human communication. Although he has written more than 20 books on China, he has found that the Internet has far more influence than books.

“Now I make videos to tell Chinese stories because China has started to understand the world, but the world still doesn’t understand China,” he said, “We are in harmony without uniformity, and we can use the Internet to show that unity is better than division.”

Rahman Bayramdurdyyev, a Turkmen student at China University of Petroleum-Beijing, studied in China for 12 years. He has witnessed rapid development and enjoyed the advantages of the Internet in China, such as using convenient Internet communication tools to contact his family during his stay in China and conducting academic exchanges with scholars from all over the world.

“The Internet not only provides us with an excellent platform to understand China, but also expands a broad channel for us to tell the stories of international students in China to the rest of the world and Central Asian stories to China,” said Bayramdurdyyev.

He said that China’s Internet development extends beyond its borders with initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

“Through the BRI, China aims to improve connectivity and digital infrastructure across countries, fostering international cooperation and expanding its influence in the global digital economy,” Bayramdurdyyev said, adding that as the Internet continues to evolve, China will undoubtedly remain a key player and contribute to the shaping of an increasingly digital world.