BREWING HARMONY WITH TEA

Xi once offered an intriguing breakdown of the Chinese character for tea to reveal its rich cultural connotations. By separating its strokes, he illustrated how the character portrays a person nestled between grass above and a tree below -- a linguistic reflection of the ancient Chinese philosophy of harmony between humanity and nature.

For the Chinese leader, tea serves as more than a beverage that adds warmth to cordial bilateral talks; it is a medium through which diverse cultures engage and connect.

During a meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the 2024 BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, Xi recounted flourishing exchanges facilitated by tea along an ancient trade road.

"Around 400 years ago, the Great Tea Road that connected the two countries went past Kazan, through which tea leaves from China's Wuyi Mountain region found their way into many Russian households," Xi said.

The trade artery took shape in the 17th century and spanned about 13,000 km at its peak, bearing witness to the spread of tea culture for more than two centuries, and forging enduring bonds between peoples along the route.

"China says 'harmony in diversity,'" meaning "we can be different, but very importantly, we have to engage in a conversation -- tea symbolizes that," said Gary Sigley, a country and region studies specialist in the Australian Studies Center of Beijing Foreign Studies University.

Tea, as a bridge of dialogue, illustrates how distinctive cultures can enrich one another through reciprocal exchanges.

"China is the birthplace of tea, while Britain has elevated afternoon tea culture to its finest expression," Xi said in an address delivered at a banquet for his state visit to Britain in 2015.

Xi holds that civilizations are equal and inclusive. He once compared tea and beer to illustrate the harmonious coexistence of Eastern and Western civilizations.

"The Chinese people are fond of tea and Belgians love beer. To me, the moderate tea drinker and passionate beer lover represent two ways of understanding life and knowing the world, and I find them equally rewarding," he said when addressing the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, back in 2014.

Whether through the Chinese ideal of preserving harmony without uniformity or the Western emphasis on unity in diversity, the key, as Xi has said, is for all to "work together for all flowers of human civilization to blossom together."