Civilizations can achieve modernization without wholesale Westernization - Lin

The civilizations will achieve modernization without the wholesale adoption of Western civilization, and dialogues among civilizations should be established on the basis of equality, Justin Yifu Lin, a professor of economics at Peking University and former World Bank chief economist, said on Wednesday.

The civilizations must have confidence as it is the key to equal dialogues, Justin Yifu Lin said on a discussion of Asia civilization at the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in Boao, Hainan province.

Over the past century, it has been proved that the modernization of our civilization doesn't need a wholesale Westernization, Lin said. The four Asian economies (Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan), known as the "Four Asian Tigers", with the civilizations based on Confucius Culture have achieved modernization.

Similarly, dominated by the Confucius Culture, China can become a high-income country and achieve modernization by 2025, said Lin.

"I believe that other civilizations can also achieve modernization," he said.