Firm Footsteps of the Right Path in the World Fate and the Strong Voice of the Times

【50 Years of New China and the United Nations】

Firm Footsteps of the Right Path in the World Fate and the Strong Voice of the Times

The United Nations witnesses China's vision and China's mind

Author: Sui Wenjuan

The Charter of the United Nations begins with the clear meaning: "We, the peoples of the United Nations, are determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which has been twice as tragic as mankind in this day... Live in harmony with each other in the way of good neighborliness, and concentrate our efforts to maintain international peace and security..." At present, in the face of major changes in the world that have not occurred in a hundred years, mankind has deeper concerns and expectations for its own future and destiny. President Xi Jinping has stood on the podium of the United Nations several times, reliving the spirit of the UN Charter, grasping the pulse of the times, facing the future of mankind, and contributing Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to promoting world peace and development again and again. In the story of President Xi Jinping and the United Nations, there are many exciting scenes that are worth savoring repeatedly.

"The right way in the world is vicissitudes." In 2015, President Xi Jinping visited the United Nations Headquarters for the first time to attend a series of commemorative activities for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. In just three days, six multilateral summits, eight bilateral meetings, and two important events, the shortest transition time is only three or five minutes, and President Xi Jinping's "UN time" is compact and efficient. At the important historic juncture of global development, China's leaders have taken a calm and confident attitude and firm and powerful words to gain insight into the future in the crisis and guide the course in the fog.

President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the general debate of the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly, a 20-minute speech that won 15 applause. President Xi Jinping proposed: "Peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom are the common values of all mankind and the lofty goals of the United Nations. The goal is far from being achieved, and we still have to work on it. In today's world, countries are interdependent and share common interests. We should inherit and carry forward the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, build a new type of international relations with win-win cooperation as the core, and build a community with a shared future for mankind. As soon as the words came out, the audience was excited. This is the first time that President Xi Jinping has put forward the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind on the stage of the United Nations, which is not only an innovation and development of China's concept of international order, but also the inheritance and promotion of the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, providing a new concept and opening up a new vision for the development of international relations.

When attending the UNITED Nations Development Summit, President Xi Jinping pointed out that looking around the world, peace and development are still the two major themes of the current era. To properly solve various global challenges, the fundamental way out lies in the pursuit of peace and development. President Xi Jinping announced the establishment of the "South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund", which will provide an initial phase of 2 billion US dollars; increase investment in the least developed countries, aiming to reach 12 billion US dollars by 2030. The warm applause in the venue was repeated. Wu Hongbo, then deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, recalled that when President Xi Jinping stepped off the podium, 20 or 30 national leaders lined up to shake his hand, and the corridor was crowded.

"Beauty and beauty are the same, and the world is one." In 2017, President Xi Jinping came to the United Nations Headquarters in Geneva to attend the high-level meeting on "Discussing and Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind". Faced with the question of the times of "what is wrong with the world and what should we do", he comprehensively and systematically expounded the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, calling for the construction of a world of lasting peace, universal security, common prosperity, openness, inclusiveness, cleanliness and beauty, which is China's lofty ideal for building a better world and the eternal expectation of all countries in the world for a new order of peace and justice.

There was also a touching scene during geneva. President Xi Jinping presented the Palais des Nations in Geneva with a cloisonné called "Song of Prosperity", which contains China's yearning and pursuit of peace. He also received goodwill from the United Nations, and Secretary-General Guterres presented President Xi Jinping with historical documents from the 1954 Geneva Conference led by Premier Zhou Enlai and a copy of the original UN Charter signed by various countries in 1945. The world has witnessed China's development from a spectator of the international system to a participant, builder and leader.

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke highly of the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, "which is in line with and resonates with the UN Sustainable Development Goals." The current Secretary-General Guterres responded enthusiastically: "The United Nations is willing to work with China to promote the cause of world peace and development and realize the great ideal of building a community with a shared future for mankind." "China has become an important pillar of multilateralism, and the purpose of our practice of multilateralism is to build a community with a shared future for mankind." The British scholar Martin Jacques called it "the great creation that changed the world." In February 2017, the concept of "building a community with a shared future for mankind" was first written into a UN resolution, and then successively written into a number of UN resolutions adopted by the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council.

"The journey of the avenue, the world is just." Mankind has entered the third decade of the 21st century, but individual countries have gone further and further down the path of unilateralism, and the international system with the United Nations as the core has suffered a serious impact. The century-old changes and the century epidemic have superimposed on the shocks, the global governance system and the international order have accelerated changes, and the world has once again stood at the crossroads of history. How to defeat the epidemic and achieve recovery? Can countries, especially those of great powers, live in harmony? How should the United Nations play its role? The world is looking forward to answers and actions.

In this "darkest moment", President Xi Jinping attended a series of high-level meetings on the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations by video, expounded China's position on major issues such as what kind of United Nations the world needs and how the United Nations will play a role in the post-epidemic era, reiterated its firm commitment to multilateralism, and put forward a resounding Chinese proposal: first, to uphold justice; second, to enforce the rule of law; third, to promote cooperation; and fourth, to focus on action. President Xi Jinping also focused on promoting the "green recovery" of the world economy after the epidemic with a new development concept, and called for jointly building an open world economy. China has once again become the "anchor of stability" in the chaos of the world, and the world has once again seen China's great power pattern and historical responsibility.

In 2021, President Xi Jinping attended the general debate of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly by video, solemnly put forward the "Global Development Initiative", and called on the international community to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, promote stronger, greener and healthier global development, and build a global development community. The "Global Development Initiative" is another important international public good provided by China to the world, drawing a blueprint for the development of all countries and international development cooperation, and once it was proposed, it has received a warm response from all countries in the world, especially the vast number of developing countries. Venezuelan President Maduro said that the Venezuelan government fully supports the "Global Development Initiative" proposed by President Xi Jinping and will take action to implement the initiative. The Chairman of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Ministerial Council (Prime Minister) Tegeltija said that the "Global Development Initiative" is opportune and highlights China's responsibility as a responsible major country in the world.

"If you don't forget it, there will be an echo." As President Xi Jinping said, "Every responsible politician must answer the issues of the times and make historical choices with confidence, courage and responsibility." "President Xi Jinping has put forward a series of important proposals and initiatives at the United Nations, highlighting the profound insights and feelings of a major country leader. Every eloquent and simple explanation has made the outside world more understanding and identification with China's consciousness and self-confidence in taking the path of peaceful development; each detailed answer to the "question of the times" has made the path of building a community with a shared future for mankind clearer and clearer. China, which adheres to the path of peaceful development and win-win cooperation, is practicing its solemn commitments as a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, a defender of international order, and a provider of public goods with practical actions.

Guangming Daily ( October 30, 2021 08 edition)

Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily