This file photo dated Nov 20, 2020 shows a view of the Understanding China Conference 2020, in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

The 2023 Understanding China Conference (Guangzhou) officially kicked off in this Guangdong provincial capital on Saturday, providing a good platform for the world to understand the country.

More than 600 politicians, officials, experts, entrepreneurs, foreign envoys and representatives of international organizations and multinational companies from more than 30 nations and regions around the world attended the annual event.

Chinese and foreign participants will jointly discuss and exchange views on the important contents, including the Chinese path to modernization and the modern civilization of the Chinese nation, China's high-quality economic development and high-level opening-up and construction of a world-class Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, showcasing China's new achievements under the unprecedented changes in the world.

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Zheng Bijian, founding chairman of the China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy, said it has been 10 years since the first Understanding China Conference was held.

Themed "China's New Endeavors amid Unprecedented Global Changes -- Expanding the Convergence of Interests and Building A Community of Shared Future", the event includes parallel seminars, thematic conferences and closed-door seminars

"And over the previous decade, we have witnessed China's rapid development and also experienced the rapidly changing international situation," Zheng made the remarks in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the event.

People of insight from both China and the international community are increasingly acutely aware of the serious "understanding deficit" between different countries and civilizations, which is not conducive to strategic mutual trust, said Zheng.

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The Understanding China Conference has been committed to promoting understanding of China, the world, and the unprecedented global changes from the very beginning, according to Zheng.

"If the conference can help the world understand China and the Communist Party of China more effectively, and at the same time help China understand the world and the unprecedented change of the world more effectively, then the 'understanding deficit' would be mitigated through the conference after enduring efforts," he said.

"And it will be a blessing for China and the entire world when it is achieved," he said.

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The event is co-hosted by the China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy, the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs and the Guangdong provincial government and organized by the Guangzhou government.

Themed "China's New Endeavors amid Unprecedented Global Changes -- Expanding the Convergence of Interests and Building A Community of Shared Future", the event includes parallel seminars, thematic conferences and closed-door seminars.