For Discussion:

Definition of Stereotype
      A stereotype is an overly simplified way of thinking a person, group, etc. It may have negative effects on communication. If a stereotype is very common, people may assume that it is true. Even the stereotyped people may eventually believe it, too.

Stereotypes are a form of generalization about some group of people, or a means of organizing images into fixed and simple categories that are used to stand for the entire collection of people. (Walter Lippmann)

Ethnocentrism 

Negatively judging aspects of another culture by the standards of one’s own culture. The word is derived from two Greek words: ethos, or “nation”; and kentron, or “center”. It is the view of things in which one’s own group is the center of everything, and all others are scaled and rated with reference to it.

National prejudice: dislike, hostility, or unjust behavior towards the other nations deriving from preconceived and unfounded opinions.

Reason
       Human beings have a psychological need to categorize and classify.

Why are they barriers ?

Stereotypes fail to specify individual characteristics.They assume that all members of a group have exactly the same traits.      

They are oversimplified, over generalized, and/ or exaggerated.  They are based on half-truths, distortions, and often untrue remises;   but often  taken as “truth”.

As a result

Stereotype inaccuracy can lead to errors in interpretations about the behaviors of others.

It can also lead to errors in interpretations about the future behaviors of others.

Right Attitude

 Intercultural competence requires an ability to move beyond stereotypes and to respond to the individual. Previous experiences should be used only as guidelines or suggested interpretations rather than as hard and fast categories.

Cultural Relativism       

All cultures are of equal value and the values and behavior of a culture can only be judged using that culture as a frame of reference. Cultural relativism suggests that the only way we can understand the behavior of others is in the context of their culture. Evaluations must be relative to the cultural background out of which they arise. No one cultural trait is right or wrong; it’s just different from alternative cultural traits. 

It is not to say we must never make value judgments of people in other cultures. Making them is necessary. Postponing these value judgments, or recognizing their tentative nature, until adequate information is gathered and we understand the people from the other culture, however, greatly facilitates understanding and effective communication.

Patriotism: the quality of having or expressing devotion to and vigorous support for one's country of "fatherland";

Citizen of the world: a person who places global citizenship above any nationalistic or local identies and relationships.

Community with a shared future for mankind

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech titled "Pulling Together Through Adversity and Toward a Shared Future for All" via video link at the opening plenary of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2021.

4月20日上午，博鳌亚洲论坛2021年年会开幕式在海南博鳌举行，国家主席习近平以视频方式发表题为《同舟共济克时艰，命运与共创未来》的主旨演讲。(英语世界)

当前，百年变局和世纪疫情交织叠加，世界进入动荡变革期，不稳定性不确定性显著上升。人类社会面临的治理赤字、信任赤字、发展赤字、和平赤字有增无减，实现普遍安全、促进共同发展依然任重道远。同时，世界多极化趋势没有根本改变，经济全球化展现出新的韧性，维护多边主义、加强沟通协作的呼声更加强烈。我们所处的是一个充满挑战的时代，也是一个充满希望的时代。

Now, the combined forces of changes and a pandemic both unseen in a century have brought the world into a phase of fluidity and transformation. Instability and uncertainty are clearly on the rise. Humanity is facing growing governance deficit, trust deficit, development deficit, and peace deficit. Much remains to be done to achieve universal security and common development. That said, there is no fundamental change in the trend toward a multi-polar world; economic globalization is showing renewed resilience; and the call for upholding multilateralism and enhancing communication and coordination has grown stronger. While we live in an age rife with challenges, it is also an age full of hope.

中方倡议，亚洲和世界各国要回应时代呼唤，携手共克疫情，加强全球治理，朝着构建人类命运共同体方向不断迈进。

China calls on all countries in Asia and beyond to answer the call of our times, defeat the pandemic through solidarity, strengthen global governance, and keep pursuing a community with a shared future for mankind.

4月22日晚，应美国总统拜登邀请，国家主席习近平在北京以视频方式出席领导人气候峰会，并发表题为《共同构建人与自然生命共同体》的重要讲话。

At the invitation of U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the Leaders Summit on Climate via video link and delivers an important speech titled "For Man and Nature: Building a Community of Life Together" in Beijing, capital of China, April 22, 2021. 

人类进入工业文明时代以来，在创造巨大物质财富的同时，也加速了对自然资源的攫取，打破了地球生态系统平衡，人与自然深层次矛盾日益显现。近年来，气候变化、生物多样性丧失、荒漠化加剧、极端气候事件频发，给人类生存和发展带来严峻挑战。新冠肺炎疫情持续蔓延，使各国经济社会发展雪上加霜。面对全球环境治理前所未有的困难，国际社会要以前所未有的雄心和行动，勇于担当，勠力同心，共同构建人与自然生命共同体。

Since time of the industrial civilization, mankind has created massive material wealth. Yet, it has come at a cost of intensified exploitation of natural resources, which disrupted the balance in the Earth’s ecosystem, and laid bare the growing tensions in the human-Nature relationship. In recent years, climate change, biodiversity loss, worsening desertification and frequent extreme weather events have all posed severe challenges to human survival and development. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has added difficulty to economic and social development across countries. Faced with unprecedented challenges in global environmental governance, the international community needs to come up with unprecedented ambition and action. We need to act with a sense of responsibility and unity, and work together to foster a community of life for man and Nature. 

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/xwxCfRKoRwq6_rxxGTXR-g

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/cz7PEP9zt8ZGsYFjYffwdg

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/n7f5xstWFQyG79OfijyqJQ