Yangtze River Civilization Forum Opens in Chongqing, Uniting Voices from Nearly 20 Countries
The 2026 Yangtze River Civilization Forum opened on September 15 in Chongqing, bringing together scholars, officials, and diplomatic representatives from nearly 20 countries, including Egypt, Brazil, India, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Australia, and Mexico. The forum focuses on how civilizations along the world's great rivers can learn from each other.
Co-hosted by the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), this year's forum operates under the permanent theme "Crossing Rivers and Seas, Mutual Learning of Civilizations." The discussions center around the exchanges among river civilizations and the sustainable development of river basins.
CASS President Gao Xiang emphasized the importance of the Yangtze in fostering exchange and mutual learning among civilizations. He described the forum as a concrete application of the Global Civilization Initiative and as a valuable exploration of various paths to modernization. British scholar Martin Jacques, a Visiting Research Fellow at LSE's Asia Research Centre, noted that civilization involves "rediscovering and exhuming the past," and highlighted the role of rivers as facilitators of cultural exchange.
The forum is also fostering tangible cooperation. Following the 2025 China-Egypt dialogue that produced the documentary "When the Yangtze Meets the Nile," efforts are underway for Chongqing's Baiheliang hydrological inscriptions—recognized as the world's earliest hydrological station—to pursue a joint World Heritage inscription with Egypt's Nilometer. In 2026, the dialogue will extend to South America through the "When the Yangtze Meets the Amazon" initiative, which includes a new co-produced documentary titled "Rivers in Harmony."
Additionally, the Chongqing Yangtze River Culture Research Institute unveiled its first research outputs, including the five-volume "Yangtze Civilization Series: Upper Reaches of Great Rivers" and the 140-volume "Compendium of Travel Writings on the Chuanjiang River and Shu Roads." The forum also launched the "A Bond between Great Rivers" international communication project, designed to connect river cities worldwide through film production, think-tank dialogues, youth exchanges, and media visits.