BEIJING, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- On a small marble relief dated circa 460 B.C., the Greek goddess of wisdom and war Athena rests her right hand on her hip and grasps a spear in her left hand, her head inclined.

"Athena is resting and contemplating after fighting a war," Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos told his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, of the Mourning Athena displayed before them. The piece, though small, is very significant, he added.

"Zhi Ge Wei Wu," Xi said to Pavlopoulos, quoting a Chinese idiom, which means boldness lies in the suspension of hostility. "She is reflecting on what exactly war means."

This exchange of words took place when the two presidents were touring the sun-lit Acropolis Museum housing artifacts found on the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens, in early November when Xi was paying a state visit to Greece.

Such moments have been plentiful throughout Xi's overseas trips in 2019. During this year, which has been a hectic one in terms of diplomacy, Xi missed no opportunity to highlight the cultural aspects in bilateral and international relations in the 12 countries he visited.

EXPLORER, DEFENDER, CHAMPION

To Gianfranco Micciche, president of the Sicilian Regional Assembly, Xi is an explorer.

"We spent a long time with the president (in the Palatine Chapel)," said Micciche, who had accompanied Xi on a tour of this royal chapel renowned for its elegantly shimmering mosaics in late March.

"We showed him the whole altar and we explained everything to him," he said, recalling that the Chinese president also visited the Yellow Hall and Roger's Hall.

"He proved to be a man of great culture because he asked extraordinary questions, which only a person of great culture would ask," he said.

The Greek president must have seen in Xi a defender of historical and cultural heritages when he said to the visiting president that he expects China to support his country in repatriating its ancient artifacts.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of the artifacts," Pavlopoulos said. "It's a shame on civilization."

China not only supports, but also will be a part of such an effort, Xi said. Due to historical reasons, both China and Greece have a great number of precious artifacts that are still lost abroad, he said, calling for cooperation to bring them back home as early as possible.

It is widely acknowledged that art is best appreciated and understood in its original historical and cultural context. When Xi was in Italy for a state visit in March, he witnessed the signing between the two countries of an agreement to return 796 illicitly traded Chinese artifacts to their home.

Then Italian Culture Minister Alberto Bonisoli referred to the agreement as an important step in relations between the two countries.

Another artifact witnessed Xi play the role of a champion of dialogue and mutual learning between Chinese and other civilizations.

During a state visit to France in March, Xi received as a state gift from his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, the original French version of "An introduction to The Analects of Confucius" published in 1668.

For both leaders, the book brought back memories of the long-standing cultural communication between their countries.

The early translations of "The Analects of Confucius" had inspired the French thinkers Montesquieu and Voltaire, Macron said. Xi said he would take this precious gift back to China's National Library.

Ahead of this visit, Xi, in a signed article published in the leading French newspaper Le Figaro, applauded the fine tradition in both Chinese and French cultures of being open and inclusive and encouraged the two countries to take bigger strides in cooperation in culture, among other fields.

"The progress of human history shows that exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations have made our world a more colorful place and provided a powerful underpinning for cooperation among countries and nations," Xi wrote.