American political scientist Samuel Huntington's theory of a "clash of civilizations" between Islam and the West, which gained currency in the 1990s, holds that cultural and religious differences fuel conflict in the post-Cold War world.

A variation on that premise weighed on the minds of scholars from the United States and China at the recent two-day New York Forum on World Civilizations, held at the United Nations.

In this discussion, the theoretical "clash" presented was between Christianity and Chinese Confucianism.

The forum's experts stressed that raising the level of East-West understanding over philosophy and faith will reduce the possibility of conflict.

In contrast to fundamental Western values of individuality, civil liberty and an embrace of competition, Chinese place primary emphasis on collectivism, fulfillment of duty, sacrifice and social harmony, said Patrick Ho, deputy chairman of the China Energy Fund Committee. The nongovernmental, Hong Kong-based think tank sponsored the forum.

"Some even predict that the lack of trust currently hampering Sino-US relations is inevitable because it is deeply rooted in those cultural differences," Ho said, adding that Confucianism and Christianity - belief systems with worldwide influence - have common and starkly different features.

"I believe the world should go beyond stereotyped opinions of irreconcilable incompatibility between the two sides, and explore how they can relate to each other and how they cannot only harmonize together, but complement each other in today's era of globalization," he explained.

While peace and inclusiveness are intrinsic to Chinese culture, the latter must be paired with wisdom, said Liu Changle, chairman and CEO of Hong Kong's Phoenix Satellite TV Holdings Ltd and vice-president of the organizing committee for the Nishan Forum on World Civilizations. That forum provided the model for the Nov 10-11 event in New York.

Many Westerners, he believes, would do well to appreciate this wisdom. Fear of China's ascendancy is rooted in distrust between the country and the West, Liu said.

"The effort to reconcile differences from different cultures and philosophies can't just stop at 'understanding what they are' by scholars," he said. "It should be conveyed to politicians and policymakers so they can better understand these sharp cultural differences when they make decisions."

Liu cited recent frictions in US-China relations including a House of Representatives Intelligence Committee report questioning the transparency and trustworthiness of telecommunications companies Huawei Technologies Co and ZTE Corp, and "China-bashing" rhetoric during the US presidential election campaign.

"The disconnect is not between Western scholars and [their understanding of] ancient Chinese philosophies; it's between the scholars and the policymakers - those who don't fully understand Chinese culture and its core values."

The Nishan Forum is named after Nishan Mountain, Confucius' birthplace in eastern China. The effort to promote dialogue across cultures was initiated by Xu Jialu, vice-chairman of the standing committee of the 9th and 10th National People's Congress.

Xu said a core belief in Chinese culture is being neutral, or in the "middle" - the literal meaning behind ancient China's Middle Kingdom. He said Chinese people tend to value being "united" and avoiding extremes.

This "middle" idea is meant to underpin peace and harmony even in the face of differences. But it hasn't been embraced by most Westerners, said Xu, who also mentioned misconceptions about China.

"If we focus only on the reality and cruelty in the journey of human growth, we often sink into anguish and fear, because we haven't found solutions for consequences caused by humans," he said.

Having a dialogue about cultural and philosophical traditions, and the differences between them, can give political leaders a basis for reaching decisions that are mutually beneficial, said James Hackett, executive chairman of Anadarko Petroleum Corp and former chairman of the US Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

"Religious and philosophical traditions are what establish the cultural norms for how economic activity is conducted," he said, adding that the economic potential of joint investments by US and Chinese enterprises shouldn't be underestimated.

"It is something we have to carefully engender and encourage under the right terms," Hackett said. "We have common interests that extend beyond just political interests.

"We have to put pressure on our own politicians to allow harmony to occur, because they have their own constraints and their own responsibilities within their national borders."

yuweizhang@chinadailyusa.com