Promote China's responsibility to build a community with a shared future for mankind

The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly pointed out that "promote world peace and development and promote the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind". Today's world is experiencing unprecedented changes in a century and accelerating evolution, intertwined with the new crown pneumonia epidemic of the century, coupled with continuous regional conflicts, the world is facing a serious peace deficit, development deficit, governance deficit and trust deficit, the changes in the world, the times, and history are unfolding in an unprecedented way, human society is facing unprecedented challenges, standing at the crossroads of history, where to go has become a global must-answer question.

Contribute Chinese wisdom to building a better world

In the face of the question of the century of "what is wrong with the world, what should we do", General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward a major initiative to build a community with a shared future for mankind, and scientifically answered the questions of the world and the times. Building a community with a shared future for mankind is completely different from the liberal international system promoted by the West. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that China respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, upholds the equality of all countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, respects the development path and social system independently chosen by the people of all countries, and resolutely opposes all forms of hegemonism and power politics, the Cold War mentality, interference in other countries' internal affairs, and double standards. The community with a shared future for mankind takes the common values of "peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom" as the ideological and theoretical foundation and spiritual core, and adopts an equal attitude of cooperation towards differences between different development models, aiming to achieve common development.

The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that "building a community with a shared future for mankind is the future of the people of all countries in the world". At present, China and Laos, Myanmar and Indonesia have established the "China-Laos Strategic Community of Destiny", "China-Myanmar Community of Destiny" and "China-Indonesia Community of Shared Destiny" in 2017, 2020 and 2022 respectively. On November 1 and 3, 2022, the Disarmament and International Security Committee of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly voted to adopt three resolutions: "Further practical measures to prevent an arms race in outer space", "No first placement of weapons in outer space", and "Development in the field of information and telecommunications from the perspective of international security", all of which are enshrined in the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind proposed by China. On November 2, 2022, the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind advocated by China was written into the resolution of the First Committee of the General Assembly for the sixth consecutive year. This also shows that the community with a shared future for mankind has strong vitality.

Promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind has become a banner for innovation in China's diplomatic theory and practice in the new era. In December 2012, General Secretary Xi Jinping said during a discussion with representatives of foreign experts working in China that the international community has increasingly become a community with a shared future between you and me. In the face of the complex situation and global problems of the world economy, no country can stand alone and put forward the concept of a community of common destiny for the first time. In March 2013, Xi Jinping's first foreign visit after assuming the presidency of China - a state visit to Russia, Tanzania, South Africa, and the Republic of Congo and attending the fifth BRICS summit, he mentioned the concept of "community of common destiny" in his important speech delivered at the Moscow Institute of International Relations, and emphasized the importance of a community of common destiny three times in his speech in Tanzania - "the Chinese and African people have forged a brotherhood of common breath, common destiny and heart-to-heart" "China and Africa have always been a community of common destiny. Common historical encounters, common development tasks, and common strategic interests bind us together" "All of Africa is a big family with a common destiny...".

China actively promotes the building of a community with a shared future for mankind

In the Chinese language system, "community" often emphasizes an emotional bond, and adding "destiny" before "community" has a blood color, reflecting the tradition of Chinese valuing feelings and telling feelings. "Community of common destiny" is colloquially speaking, the relationship between the countries concerned and the solidarity of the countries concerned, which is not only economic, but also social, humanistic, values, security and other aspects. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out when talking about how to build a community with a shared future for mankind, that only when all countries follow the road of the world, live in harmony and win-win cooperation, can prosperity be lasting and security guaranteed. The report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that the people of all countries work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind. The report of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China also clearly pointed out that it is necessary to advocate the awareness of a community with a shared future for mankind, take into account the legitimate concerns of other countries when pursuing national interests, and promote the common development of all countries in the pursuit of national development.

The "community of common destiny" is first and foremost a community of interests, including economic community, security community, social and cultural community, etc. In the real international relations dominated by national interests, it is difficult to have a community of destiny without a community of interests. In 2021, China has become the largest trading partner of 124 countries and regions. In 2019, China's total import and export merchandise trade reached 4.58 trillion yuan, which far exceeded the 4.2 trillion US dollars of the United States. "Community of common destiny" is also a value. In contrast to the constant conflicts in the international community, the community of common destiny emphasizes resolving differences through cooperation and dialogue. At the same time, the community of common destiny also contains the sense of "responsibility". In September 2015, President Xi Jinping mentioned in his important speech during the general debate of the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly that "in today's world, countries are interdependent and solidarity", which pointed out the historical inevitability of building a community with a shared future for mankind. There is only one planet for mankind, countries belong to the same world, 80% of global trade is currently contributed by global value chains, and the close ties and interdependence of countries have reached the level of death. Due to the unprecedented and close interdependence of countries reflected in the community of common destiny, the characteristics of "one loss and one prosperity" are increasingly displayed among countries around the world, and each country must bear certain responsibilities for the sake of its own interests and the common interests of all countries in the world. In December 2021, the "Lancang" EMU train between China and Laos departed, which was the first time in the history of Laos to have a train, changing from an "internally locked country" to a "land-linked country", interpreting the connotation of the relationship between building a community of common destiny with actions. As of November 2021, China has provided more than 1.8 billion doses of vaccines to the world following the outbreak. China's donation of new crown vaccines has covered almost all countries around China, especially neighboring developing countries. In order to promote the realization of a community with a shared future for mankind, since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China has successively proposed the "Belt and Road" cooperation initiative to build the "Silk Road Economic Belt" and the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road", proposed the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, proposed the establishment of the Lancang-Mekong River cooperation mechanism, established a dialogue and cooperation mechanism of Asian civilizations, and held the China International Import Expo.

At present, the global situation of the new crown pneumonia epidemic is still complex and severe, the world economy is sluggish and anti-globalization is still fermenting, the debt risk of many developing countries has intensified, and the global industrial chain and supply chain are facing an unprecedented crisis. At the same time, certain countries pursue the Cold War mentality, form gangs and factions, pursue a zero-sum game with you lose and I win, frequently identify strategic opponents to engage in strategic competition, and provoke a dispute over identity politics and values, which is not only detrimental to their own development, but also seriously poisons regional peace and stability. To this end, President Xi Jinping delivered keynote speeches at the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021 and the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in April 2022, respectively, and put forward the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative respectively, contributing Chinese solutions and Chinese wisdom to the world's exit from the predicament and the early establishment of a community with a shared future for mankind. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China also clearly pointed out, "China has put forward the global development initiative and the global security initiative, and is willing to work with the international community to implement it." "Development" has both "interests" and "responsibilities", and "development" is the purpose of building a community with a shared future for mankind and the path to build a community with a shared future for mankind. The Global Security Initiative is not only China's response to the urgent security demands facing the world, but also a concrete embodiment of China's renewed pledge to follow the path of peaceful development, demonstrating China's commitment to promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind through peaceful means.

Build a new type of international relations with win-win cooperation as the core

On September 28, 2015, President Xi Jinping delivered a speech entitled "Join hands to build a new partnership for win-win cooperation and build a community with a shared future for mankind" at the general debate of the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly, which systematically and in detail elaborated on the "community with a shared future for mankind". We have two foundations for building a community with a shared future for mankind: the first is based on the UN Charter, in other words, a community with a shared future for mankind is not a new one, but on the basis of the existing international order and global governance system, which reflects the inheritance of the original achievements of human development. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China also clearly pointed out that "firmly uphold the international system with the United Nations as the core, the international order based on international law, and the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, oppose all forms of unilateralism, and oppose the establishment of campization and exclusionary circles targeting specific countries."

We cannot give up our dreams because of the complexity of reality, and we cannot give up our pursuit because our ideals are far away. No country can meet the challenges facing humanity alone, and no country can retreat into self-enclosed islands. Promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind requires both internal and external cultivation and mutual promotion. Internally, we should use the Chinese-style modernization path to achieve the second centenary goal at an early date, and externally, we should actively strive for more countries to understand and support the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind. To this end, China must maintain an equal, modest, open and inclusive posture, so as to win the respect of the world and win more countries willing to work with China to build a community with a shared future for mankind. In November 2021, President Xi Jinping presided over the summit commemorating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of China-ASEAN dialogue relations and proposed that "equal treatment and harmony are our common aspirations". According to statistics, as of October 2022, President Xi Jinping mentioned "treating each other as equals" nearly 300 times in relevant foreign affairs activities. The more powerful China becomes, the more it should maintain an attitude of equality and humility. China's efforts to actively promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind have been widely praised by the international community. UN Secretary-General António Guterres praised that the purpose of our practice of multilateralism is to build a community with a shared future for mankind. Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pointed out that building a community with a shared future for mankind has provided inspiration for all UN Member States. Former French Prime Minister Raffarin said that the great idea of building a community with a shared future for mankind has proposed a reasonable and feasible solution for the world to develop in a more inclusive, efficient and high-quality direction.

(Author: Wang Junsheng, Director and Researcher, China Peripheral and Global Strategy Research Office, Institute of Asia-Pacific and Global Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

Source: China Social Science Network