Wang Yi

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

II. Articulating that the Vision of Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind is the most effective move to sustain, promote and upgrade the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence under the new circumstances

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the baton of history is passed from generation to generation, and the cause of human progress moves forward from one era to another as mankind seek answers to the questions of the times. Seven decades ago, leaders of China, India and Myanmar jointly advocated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, giving the answer of their times to the major question of how to handle state-to-state relations. Seven decades on, bearing in mind the common and fundamental interests of people around the world, General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward the important Vision of Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind, the response of our times to the question of “what kind of world to build and how to build it.” The Vision both carries forward and renews the spirit of the Five Principles. It is an all-round and creative enrichment and expansion of the goals, pathways, values and practices of the Five Principles, and defines the noble goal for China’s major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics for the new era. This is a new historical step forward in the progressive cause of humanity.

The Vision of Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind has added new layers to state-to-state relations and represents a historical step toward helping each other succeed and working together for this one and only planet Earth where our shared future depends. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the Vision captures the reality that all countries have a shared future and intertwined interests, and sets a new model of equality and coexistence for international relations. The world today has become a community with a shared future, i.e. the future of all countries are bound more closely together for good or ill by common challenges, common interests and common responsibilities. Living in such an era, we need to take more proactive steps to pursue win-win cooperation under the principles of equality and mutual benefit, and take peaceful coexistence to the higher level of harmony and shared prosperity. In building a community with a shared future for mankind, the basic underpinning lies in building a new type of international relations characterized by mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation. This affirms that all countries, regardless of their size, strength and wealth, are equal members of the international community, sharing interests, rights and responsibilities in international affairs, and bound to join hands to tackle challenges and achieve shared prosperity. With applying the common values of humanity as its guiding principle, and taking peace and development as a common cause, fairness and justice a common ideal, and democracy and freedom a common aspiration, the Vision encourages civilizations to coexist in harmony and facilitate progress in one another, and provides the right conceptual guidance for building a better world.

The Vision of Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind has lent strong impetus to advancing world peace and development and represents a historical step toward building a common homeland for humanity. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the Vision responds to the world’s prevailing trend of peace, development, cooperation and win-win, and opens up new prospects for peace and progress. A common question facing the international community is how to inject greater stability and positive energy into the changing and turbulent world and promote peace and development for humanity. The Vision focuses on the future of mankind and the well-being of the people. It advocates peace and development over conflict and confrontation, common security over absolute security, and mutually beneficial cooperation over zero-sum game. It calls for exchanges and mutual learning to prevent clash of civilizations, and champions ecological conservation to protect planet Earth. It aims to build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world of lasting peace, universal security and shared prosperity. It has shown a way toward a common future for people of all countries. Guided by this noble goal, China has been working with partner countries to advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, making it the international cooperation platform that is broadest in coverage and largest in size. The BRI has become a pathway of cooperation, opportunity and prosperity, one that leads to common development. China has also proposed and is working to implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, bringing minds and hands together in the joint pursuit of development, security and advances in civilizations.

The Vision of Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind explores a right way for building a just and equitable international order, and is a historical step forward toward conducting global governance featuring extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit. As pointed out by General Secretary Xi Jinping, the Vision keeps pace with the historic trend toward multipolarity and economic globalization, and inspires new ways to achieve development and security. The destiny of the world should be kept in the hands of all countries, international rules should be written by all countries, global affairs should be governed by all countries, and the fruits of development should be shared by all countries. The Vision advocates global governance featuring extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit. It practices true multilateralism, firmly upholds the authority and standing of the U.N., and resolutely opposes all forms of hegemony and power politics. The Vision advocates an equal and orderly multipolar world, and promotes greater democracy in international relations. It aims to ensure that countries find their place in the multipolar system and play their role under the premise of observing international law, and that the process of world multipolarity is generally stable and constructive. The Vision advocates a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and encourages sharing of growth opportunities, accommodation of development paths, and proper solutions to global and regional imbalances, with a view to achieving common prosperity and development of all countries, especially developing countries.

The building of a community with a shared future for mankind meets the prevailing aspiration of people around the world, points the direction for the progress of world civilization, and underscores the CPC’s commitment to pursuing not only happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation but also human progress and world harmony. Entering the new era, China has been working with all sides to take profound and concrete measures in building a community with a shared future for mankind. Communities with a shared future of varying forms have been built between China and dozens of countries and regions, and communities in health, man and nature, cyberspace and maritime fields, among others, are taking shape. High-quality Belt and Road cooperation has drawn active participation from more than three quarters of the countries around the world and several dozen international organizations. The Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative have been warmly received by the international community. The building of a community with a shared future for mankind has grown from a Chinese initiative to an international consensus. The beautiful vision has been put into productive actions. It has expanded from bilateral to multilateral, regional to global, development to security, and cooperation to governance. It is becoming a banner leading the progress of the times, and is moving the world to a bright future of peace, security, prosperity and progress.