ATHENS, June 28 (Xinhua) -- (Reporter Chen Gang) An academic seminar titled "Chinese and European cultures and civilizations: From parallel pasts to a common future" was held in the city of Piraeus, Greece a few days ago. Experts and scholars attending the seminar discussed the interactions between Chinese and European civilizations and building consensus on the development of the East and the West.

During the keynote speech session, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, former President of Greece and a professor at the Law School of the University of Athens, said that mutual respect and cooperation among different civilizations are of crucial importance. Under the global changes, how to promote the inclusive coexistence of different civilizations and achieve joint efforts of the world to deal with global challenges has become a common problem faced by all countries in the world.