A stone taken from another mountain may serve as a tool to polish the local jade.
This is a line from Shi Jing (The Book of Songs). It implies that advice from others may help remedy one's own shortcomings. It also applies to a wider context. For instance, a country can improve itself by learning from the experience and methods of other countries. This shows the Chinese people's openness to learning from others.
Addressing the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting in December 2017, Xi Jinping said: As a Chinese saying goes, "A stone taken from another mountain may serve as a tool to polish the local jade." Advice from others may help remedy one's own shortcomings. The CPC always stresses the need to develop a global perspective. We have learned from and drawn on the achievements of other cultures and applied them in the Chinese context.
他山之石，可以攻玉
“他山之石，可以攻玉”，语出《诗经》，意为别的山上的石头，可以用来琢磨玉器。比喻借用他人的批评、帮助来改正自己的过错，借他人或他国的情况、经验、方法等作为自己的借鉴和参考，可以更好地提升自我。这一理念充分体现了中国人开放包容、虚心学习的精神。
2017年12月，习近平在中国共产党与世界政党高层对话会上引用“他山之石，可以攻玉”，指出中国共产党历来强调树立世界眼光，积极学习借鉴世界各国人民创造的文明成果，并结合中国实际加以运用。
