On September 21st, the Commemoration of the International Day of Peace 2026 opened in Wuhan, Hubei Province. Co-hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Peace and Disarmament (CPAPD) and the Hubei Provincial People's Government, the event was themed “Meeting Challenges Together for a Peaceful World”. Peng Qinghua, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and President of CPAPD; Liu Haixing, Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee (IDCPC); and Guan Zhi'ou, Secretary of the CPC Hubei Provincial Committee, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, delivered a video message. Mohamed Ould Meguett, President of the National Assembly of Mauritania, Nur Jazlan, Deputy President of the Senate of Malaysia, Mariyana Trenkova, former Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria, and more than 300 participants from 60 countries, including political party leaders, representatives of peace organizations, think-tank scholars, figures promoting people-to-people friendship, diplomatic envoys of some countries to China, as well as representatives from relevant Chinese government departments, were present. 

Peng said that President Xi Jinping has pointed out that peace is like air and sunshine. It is hardly noticed when people are benefiting from it, but none of us can live without it. Faced with the changes of the world, of our times and of the trajectory of history, China firmly stands on the right side of history and on the side of human civilizational progress. With its own steady development, China injects precious stability and positive energy into a turbulent world. The cause of human peace and development has now reached a new crossroads. The international community should stay true to the original aspiration for peace, settle disputes via political and diplomatic approaches, and jointly be builders of world peace; consolidate the foundation for peace, advance common prosperity through openness and cooperation, and jointly be contributors to global development; strengthen the bonds of peace, enhance mutual understanding and trust through inclusiveness and mutual learning, and jointly be promoters of civilizational dialogue; safeguard peace, improve global governance through dialogue and consultation, and jointly be defenders of the international order. China stands ready to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with all peace-loving progressive forces across the world, and make unremitting efforts to build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world with lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity, and advance the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. 

Liu noted that this year marks the 105th anniversary of the founding of the CPC. Since its founding, the CPC has always kept the whole world in mind, demonstrating the sense of responsibility of a major party in advancing humanity's cause of peace and development. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has creatively put forward the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity and the four major global initiatives, charting the way forward and injecting positive energy into building a better world. The CPC is ready to work together with all peace-loving, progress-seeking political parties, political organizations and people from all sectors of society to uphold the people-centered purpose and principle, firmly follow the path of peaceful development, practice the spirit of solidarity and collaboration, respond actively to people’s aspiration for peace, jointly safeguard an international environment conducive to peace and development, advance a more just and reasonable global governance system, jointly tackle various risks and challenges, and march toward a bright future of peace, security and prosperity for the world. 

Guan said that Hubei is an important province in central China. Since ancient times, Hubei has nurtured a gene of love for peace. At present, Hubei is striving to build itself into an important strategic pivot for the central region's rise as its overarching goal, and push forward innovation in science and technology, industry, finance, regional development, opening-up and governance in a coordinated manner. This requires strong support from all sides and also offers broad space for us to deepen international exchanges and cooperation. Guided by President Xi’s four global initiatives, we will work hand in hand with all parties to further enhance people-to-people and cultural exchanges, carry forward the time-honored friendship and promote people-to-people bonds; further pursue mutually beneficial and win-win outcomes, expand outbound investment and trade cooperation, and share the fruits of high-quality development; further deepen governance cooperation, jointly tackle global challenges such as public health and climate change, and make greater contributions to building a community with a shared future for humanity. 

Guterres said that prolonged and recurring conflicts have repeatedly shown that peace is not a natural gift; it has to be strived for by humanity. He called on the international community to demonstrate solidarity, courage and resolve, promote dialogue, bridge differences and resolve contradictions through political, diplomatic and people-to-people efforts, and jointly safeguard peace for humanity. Foreign participants said, peace is a prerequisite for development and a guarantee for stability. To build peace is to build the future. In the complex and grave international situation, the four global initiatives proposed by President Xi provide a path for the international community to break free from security and development dilemmas. They expressed the readiness to take active part in implementation actions, strengthen dialogue and cooperation, pursue peaceful development together, and contribute to building a community with a shared future for humanity. 

At the opening ceremony, a thematic presentation entitled “drawing a vision of world peace by integrating wisdom from ancient and modern times and across the globe” was held. Non-governmental representatives from home and abroad shared stories about China’s traditional culture of “harmony”, exchanges between Eastern and Western civilizations and inheritance of peace and friendship through performances, conceptual dialogues and AI video presentations, expressing the aspiration to remember history, cherish peace and jointly create the future. 

Li Dianxun, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Hubei Provincial Committee and Governor of Hubei Province; Zhuge Yujie, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Hubei Provincial Committee; Ma Guoqiang, Secretary of the Leading Party Members' Group and Executive Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Hubei Provincial People’s Congress; Sheng Yuechun, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Hubei Provincial Committee and Secretary of the CPC Wuhan Municipal Committee; Chen Ping, Vice Governor of Hubei Province; Cui Shixin, Secretary of the Leading Party Members' Group of the All-China Journalists Association, and others attended the opening ceremony. 

Lu Kang, Vice-minister of the IDCPC, presided over the opening ceremony. 

Prior to the opening ceremony, Peng Qinghua held a group meeting with major foreign representatives participating in the commemoration.