Wang Yi

Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee And Minister of Foreign Affairs

The year 2024 marks the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. On June 28, General Secretary Xi Jinping attended and delivered an important address at the conference marking the occasion. This is a major home-court diplomatic event held by the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, against the backdrop of accelerated global transformation not seen in a century and profound adjustment of the international landscape and with both domestic and international imperatives in mind, to promote international solidarity and cooperation and humanity’s cause of peace and development.

General Secretary Xi Jinping’s visionary address is profound in thought and rich in connotation. Informed by history and oriented toward the future, it fully expounds on the essence and relevance of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. Noting the momentous transformation of the world, it points the direction of building a community with a shared future for mankind, and sends a powerful message of the Global South working together with people across all countries working together for a better future. This important address reaffirms China’s commitment to the path of peaceful development, elevates the Vision of Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind to a new height, and inspires China and the world to redouble efforts in their joint pursuit of development and prosperity. The address fully demonstrates General Secretary Xi Jinping’s deep commitment to the world and strong sense of responsibility for history as the leader of a major party and a major country. It represents the latest development of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, and provides strategic and scientific guidance for us to draw historic wisdom from the Five Principles, and build consensus on tackling the problems and challenges facing the world today.

I. Expounding on the relevance of championing the essence of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence under the new circumstances

General Secretary Xi Jinping gave a comprehensive summary of the indelible historic contributions of the Five Principles, and underlined that being a common asset of the international community, the Five Principles have become more appealing rather than obsolete, and should be valued, inherited and further promoted. Championing the essence of the Five Principles under the new circumstances carries important and far-reaching significance.

From a historical perspective, it is an inevitable development of the trend toward multipolarity and greater democracy in international relations. Born at a time when national independence and liberation movements were sweeping across Asia, Africa and Latin America, the Five Principles embodied the legitimate aspiration of newly independent countries to safeguard their sovereignty and grow their national economy, provided a powerful rallying force behind the efforts of developing countries to pursue cooperation and self-strength through unity, and pushed forward the historic process of reforming and improving the international order. Their initiation marked a groundbreaking achievement in the history of international relations. In the new century, the collective rise of emerging market and developing countries is unstoppable. The Global South stands out with a strong momentum, and groupings such as BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization have gained notably stronger influence. The trend toward multipolarity and greater democracy in international relations is irreversible. Championing the essence of the Five Principles under the new circumstances is a crucial step to fully capture the political and economic reality of today’s world, and move toward a more just and equitable international order.

From a realistic perspective, it is a response to the urgent call for uniting all progressive forces across the world and tackling global challenges together. The Five Principles drew lessons from the hot wars, broke through the dark clouds of the Cold War, and triumphed over obsolete and narrow-minded ideas such as bloc politics and sphere of influence. They advocated mutual trust, friendship and cooperation between all countries, called for peaceful settlement of disputes, and greatly advanced the cause of world peace and development. Today, humanity lives in a global village, and countries are more interconnected and interdependent than ever before. The world has entered a new period of turbulence and change, where factors of instability and uncertainty are notably increasing. Facing hotspot issues such as the Ukraine crisis and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and global challenges like climate change and cybersecurity, no country can stay insulated from their impact, still less resolve them by going it alone or resorting to exclusive blocs. Championing the essence of the Five Principles under the new circumstances is an inevitable choice for enhancing solidarity and cooperation among all countries to meet challenges and build a better future together.

From a theoretical perspective, it is an important cornerstone for building a new type of international relations. As the first systematic theory of international relations proposed by developing countries, the Five Principles stress the importance of mutuality and equality in handling state-to-state relations, and highlight the essence of international rule of law, i.e. the intercorrelation of rights, obligations and responsibilities. Replacing power politics, bullying and the law of the jungle with respect for sovereignty, equality and mutual benefit, the Five Principles have served as the prime guidance for the establishment and development of relations between countries with different social systems, and set an important benchmark for international relations and international rule of law. Facing the various practices of unilateralism, protectionism, power politics and bullying, humanity must make a historic choice between peace and war, prosperity and recession, and unity and confrontation. Championing the essence of the Five Principles under the new circumstances is an inherent requirement for building a new type of international relations, and achieving peaceful coexistence of human society that is more secure and prosperous.

From a practical perspective, it offers a path to upholding the U.N. Charter and international rule of law. The Five Principles are highly consistent with the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter. Shortly after their debut in Asia, the Five Principles soon ascended to the world stage, forming the basis for the ten principles outlined at the 1955 Bandung Conference and becoming the guiding principles of the Non-Aligned Movement that rose in the 1960s. The Declaration on Principles of International Law adopted at the UNGA Session in 1970 and the Declaration on the Establishment of the New International Economic Order adopted at the Sixth Special UNGA Session in 1974 both endorsed the Five Principles. With their inclusion in important international documents, the Five Principles have become open, inclusive, and universally applicable basic norms for international relations and fundamental principles of international law. China has taken the Five Principles as the bedrock of its independent foreign policy of peace. Guided by the Five Principles, China has properly settled historical issues with neighboring countries, helped restore peace in Indochina, and established diplomatic relations and advanced friendly cooperation with 183 countries. China has also written the Five Principles into its Constitution. Championing the essence of the Five Principles under the new circumstances, and moving forward hand in hand along this path that has proven right and drawn followers in all countries, humanity will continue to embrace an even better future.