A decade ago when the newly-elected leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) made its debut at the Great Hall of People after the first plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, the world speculated about how the most populous nation and the second-largest economy would reach out to the global community, and what kind of role China would play in a world entangled in intertwined turmoils and transformation.
During his first overseas trip as Chinese president in March 2013, Xi Jinping, also General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, introduced China’s vision of fostering a new type of international relations with win-win cooperation at the core and the notion of building a human community with a shared future, followed by a host of major initiatives and proposals, including the Belt and Road Initiative, the common values of humanity, the Global Development Initiative(GDI), the Global Security Initiative(GSI), and the Global Civilization Initiative(GCI). The core message of these initiatives is that countries are interdependent, mankind has a shared future, and the international community must get united for cooperation.
Over the years, under President Xi Jinping’s leadership, China has been committed to the path of peaceful development and devoted itself to addressing global challenges, facilitating win-win cooperation, promoting greater democracy in international relations, and making the global governance system more just and equitable. The building of a human community with a shared future has evolved into a vision with global significance, received a warm response from the wider international community and has been exerting a positive and far-reaching influence on contemporary international relations. At the global governance level, initiatives to build a human community with a shared future in the dimensions of cyberspace, nuclear safety, common health, life and nature and maritime have been proposed. At the regional level, initiatives to build a human community with a shared future with China’s neighbours, Asia, Asia-Pacific, ASEAN, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Africa, Arab States and Latin America have been well received. At the bilateral level, in-depth communication with global leaders has been carried out. The vision has been written into multilateral resolutions and declarations. It has been widely recognized by the international community and is gradually becoming a global consensus.
The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China made it clear that promoting the building of a human community with a shared future is one of the essential requirements of the Chinese modernization drive. Building a human community with a shared future is the core principle of Xi Jinping Thoughts on Diplomacy. It is not only the Chinese solution to the “questions of the times” facing the world today but also a righteous way that brings benefits to the people of the world. It embodies China’s global vision and perspective, as well as the spirit of a major country ready to shoulder its responsibility that links its own development with the noble cause of peace and development for humanity.
The features of building a human community with a shared future
The concept of building a human community with a shared future carries forward traditional Chinese philosophical beliefs such as “harmony is of paramount value”, “achieve universal prosperity in the whole world” and “unity of man and nature”. It is in line with the diplomatic traditions of New China, including the independent foreign policy of peace, the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence, and a win-win strategy of opening up and building a harmonious world. It also reflects the common aspiration of people all over the world for development and progress and the beneficial experience of some regions and countries in building communities, embodying both salient Chinese features and common values of mankind.
The features of building a human community with a shared future for mankind are lasting peace, universal security, common prosperity, openness and inclusiveness, and a clean and beautiful environment. These five aspects, taken together, constitute the overall approach to create a community of shared future for mankind, depict a bright future for the progress of international relations and represent a major innovation in the theory of major-country diplomacy with Chinese features.
The essence, as the word suggests, is that the future and destiny of each nation and country are closely connected. Everyone should pull together for a common cause, share weal and woe, and seek the broadest common interests of countries to build this planet into a harmonious family.
The way to build a human community with a shared future
President Xi Jinping solemnly declared that China will advance the building of aworld that enjoys lasting peace through dialogue and consultation, a world that enjoys universal security through joint contribution and shared benefits, a world that enjoys common prosperity through win-win cooperation, an open and inclusive world through exchanges and mutual learning, and a clean and beautiful world through green and low-carbon development.
To build a human community with a shared future, it is important to adhere to common development and inject impetus into solving the global development deficit. At present, the world is facing serious development problems. According to statistics, nearly half of the world’s population lives on less than $5.50 a day. Years of global poverty reduction achievements have been in vain result of the epidemic, and the number of people suffering hungry has increased by more than 150 million. Some 574 million people will still be living in extreme poverty by the end of 2030. President Xi Jinping put forward the Global Development Initiative (GDI) to promote the resolution of the urgent problems faced by developing countries, and to accelerate the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. More than 100 countries and many international organizations including the UN have supported this initiative, and nearly 70 countries have joined the “Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative”.
It is important to promote common security and contribute to the realization of lasting peace for mankind. Security of all countries is interrelated today. Without genuine security, it would be impossible to create a community of shared futures for mankind. China takes the path of peaceful development, and other countries should also follow the path of peaceful development. Only when everyone takes the path of peaceful development can countries live in harmony, and the lasting peace for mankind. For this reason, President Xi Jinping proposed a global security initiative(GDI), emphasizing that mankind is an indivisible security community, advocating a common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security concept, paying attention to the legitimate security concerns of all countries, and advocating the construction of a balanced, effective, and sustainable security architecture, to resolve differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation. This is an innovative measure to deal with international security challenges and a fundamental solution to achieving long-term peace and stability in the world.
It is important to promote common opening up and create opportunities for deepening cooperation and win-win results. China’s two miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability depend on reform and opening up. Openness is a two-way street. One cannot ask others to open up while closing his own door. Politicizing scientific and technological issues, weaponizing ideology, and artificially blocking scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation will only lead to the stagnation of scientific and technological progress.
It is important to respect for diversity of civilizations, promote common values and build bridges for exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations, the key features of GCI. President Xi Jinping has stressed that peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom are the common values of all mankind, each nation and civilization have its distinct features, and no one can claim to be superior to others. True democracy means respecting countries to take a path of democracy that suits their own national conditions. True human rights mean respecting other countries’ practice of their own distinctive human rights concepts. True freedom means respecting other countries’ free choices to accelerate development while maintaining their independence. Diverse civilizations may become a bridge of friendship among peoples, a driving force for social progress and a bond for world peace. Attempting to impose the values of a few countries on the whole world is in itself contrary to the true meaning of democracy. Different countries and civilizations urgently need to work together to deal with global challenges that affect the future and destiny of mankind as a whole.
It is important to build a new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation, which means that all countries and people should enjoy dignity, development, and security, abandon the outdated mindset of seeking alliance or confrontation, act along the trend of the times, treat each other as equals, value consultation and mutual understanding, and explore partnerships that are inclusive and constructive instead of targeting at an imagined enemy or any third party. The future of the world should be controlled by the people of all countries, international rules should be written by all countries, global affairs should be governed by all countries, and development results should be shared by all countries.
China’s stride
China is not only the staunchest advocate but also the most down-to-earth practitioner, contributor and pioneer in the building of a human community with a shared future.
Looking at the world as a human community with a shared future naturally leads to a path of reform, opening up, and win-win cooperation. In the past decade, China has established 21 pilot free trade zones and increased the Free Trade Agreements (FTA) it has signed from 10 to 19, which include the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the biggest FTA in the world. Pre-establishment national treatment has been given to foreign investors across the board, and the items on the negative list for foreign investment have been curtailed to 27. China’s market entities have soared to over 160 million. According to the World Bank, China ranks 31st globally in the Ease of Doing Business Ranking, up by 65 spots in ten years.
After ten years of inception, the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI), a practical and open initiative guided by the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, has evolved from vision into reality. It is a high-quality public good initiated by China, build by the parties involved, and shared by the world. The BRI delivers high-standard, sustainable and livelihood-enhancing outcomes, boosting development in partner countries and bringing real benefits to the people, The BRI has galvanized nearly US$1 trillion of investment, established more than 3,000 cooperation projects, created 420,000 local jobs, and helped lift almost 40 million people out of poverty. A decade of efforts has laid down a pathway toward common development and created an array of national landmarks, livelihood projects, and milestones of cooperation. The China-Laos Railway helps make land-locked Laos a land-linked country. The Puttalam power plant helps light up numerous Sri Lankan homes at night. The Mombasa-Nairobi Railway adds more than two percentage points to local economic growth. Luban workshops help young people in over 20 countries acquire vocational skills. The China-Europe Railway Express has completed 65,000 freight services, serving as a steel camel fleet between Asia and Europe, and a health train delivering medical supplies during the pandemic. China will host the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation this year. Taking this as an opportunity, China will further promote the high-quality development of joint construction for more fruitful outcomes from Belt and Road cooperation.
As an active contributor to the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, China has assisted other developing countries in reducing poverty, boosting agricultural progress, supporting equal access to education, improving infrastructure and speeding up industrialization, as highlighted in the white paper titled “China’s International Development Cooperation in the New Era”. In particular, China actively responds to the calls and concerns of the poverty-stricken countries which bear the brunt in the aftershock of the global pandemic and economic downturn and is helping many African countries develop modern agriculture with the help of the China-developed BeiDou Navigation Satellite System and unmanned equipment.
In the Ukraine crisis, China’s core stance is to promote talks for peace. The 12 propositions offered in China’s Position paper on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis reflect China’s consistent effort and constructive role in the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis. The landmark agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran mediated by China to resume diplomatic ties and reopen embassies and missions was a milestone in helping de-escalate tensions, restore peace and inject stability into a volatile geopolitical landscape, manifesting that China’s diplomatic philosophy to promote peace and development is much more appealing than some countries’ tactics of fueling confrontation to expand their own political domain in the region. The dialogue and the agreement set a good example of how countries can resolve disputes and differences and achieve good neighbourliness and friendship through dialogue and consultation.
Looking forward
The COVID-19 pandemic has been brought under control after three years, but the world is not yet safer. Trust between major countries is lacking, geopolitical rifts are widening, unilateralism is rampant, the Cold War mentality is back, and new types of security threats from energy, food, climate, biology and artificial intelligence keep emerging.
If people choose to see the world from a “democracy vs. authoritarianism” perspective, they will very likely usher in a world of division, competition, and conflict. But if they view the world as a human community with a shared future, then openness, cooperation, and win-win outcomes will be the fruits of their choice. At a critical juncture of history, human society must not repeat the old path of antagonism, division and confrontation, and must not fall into the trap of zero-sum games, wars and conflicts.
China’s central task in the new era and on the new journey is to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization, not only creating a new form of human advancement but also providing new choices for developing countries. The process of Chinese modernization is a boost to the force for peace, justice and progress in the world. As more and more countries begin their journey of modernization, the vision of building a human community with a shared future will be within reach and our planet will enjoy a promising future.
The first China-Arab States Summit was successfully held late last year. President Xi Jinping and leaders of Arab states agreed to build a China-Arab community with a shared future in the new era, marking a new milestone in the history of China-Arab relations. President Xi Jinping met President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on 8th December 2022 with both sides pledging to deepen cooperation toward the building of a China-Egypt community with a shared future in the new era.
Standing at the historical starting point, China is ready to work with Egypt and the Arab side to jointly deliver on the outcomes of the China-Arab States Summit, carry forward the spirit of friendship featuring “solidarity and mutual assistance, equality and mutual benefit, and inclusiveness and mutual learning”, take solid steps toward the building of a China-Arab community with a shared future in the new era, and together usher in an even brighter future of China-Arab relations.
Li Jie is the Counselor of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Egypt
