China’s proposals for building a better world

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the proposal of the concept of "Building a Community of Shared Future for Mankind." On September 26th, the State Council Information Office of China released a white paper titled "Building a Community of Shared Future for Mankind: China's Proposals and Actions," providing a comprehensive overview of the ideology and vivid practices behind this concept. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, President Xi Jinping has been integrating the grand strategy of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with the profound changes unseen in a century globally. He put forth the concept of building a community of shared future for mankind, offering a Chinese solution for constructing a just and equitable new international order and guiding China's diplomacy as a major country. Building a community of shared future for mankind embodies China's global vision in its foreign policy, reflects the common pursuit of human society's shared values, and represents the common aspiration of people around the world for a better life. As Peter Thomson, the President of the 71st United Nations General Assembly, stated, "Building a Community of Shared Future for Mankind is the only future for humanity on this planet."

The core essence of this concept revolves around constructing "Five Worlds" across international politics, security, economy, culture, and ecology. These Five Worlds are aimed at:

1. Establishing a world of enduring peace: Rejecting Cold War mentality and power politics, steering clear of the Thucydides Trap of great power rivalry, and promoting peaceful coexistence.

2. Creating a world of universal security: Abandoning exclusive security doctrines and the "might-makes-right" logic, opposing all forms of terrorism, and advocating for common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security for all.

3. Cultivating a world of common prosperity: Moving away from a zero-sum mindset and neighbor-enemy dichotomy, advancing from the principle of peaceful coexistence to a stage of win-win cooperation, and promoting economic globalization that is open, inclusive, beneficial to all, balanced, and win-win.

4. Fostering a world of openness and inclusiveness: Rejecting the notions of superiority and conflict of civilizations, fostering cultural exchange and mutual learning as a driving force for human progress and a bond for world peace.

5. Developing a world of clean and beautiful environments: Rejecting the development model of pollute first and clean up later, embracing the concept of a community of life between humanity and nature, and pursuing a path of sustainable development that is green and low-carbon.

This concept of building a community of shared future for mankind stands as a constructive world view and international relations theory that encompasses a vision of world history. It is an ideal response to the trend of economic globalization and universal human interaction. It highlights the importance of united cooperation among nations. President Xi Jinping has emphasized that promoting the construction of a community of shared future for mankind does not mean replacing one system with another or imposing one civilization over another. Instead, it signifies that nations with different social systems, ideologies, historical and cultural backgrounds, and levels of development should share interests, rights, and responsibilities in international affairs, forming a common denominator for building a better world. As a "constructive world view," the concept of a community of shared future for mankind provides a solid foundation for maintaining overall stability in the world order and offers methodological guidance.

Constructing a new type of international relations is the only way forward. The prevailing international system, dominated by major Western powers, is characterized by a "center-periphery" structure and a dependent world system. It adheres to the view of unilateralism and hegemony, follows the logic of the law of the jungle and zero-sum game, promotes the interests of the West as the center, and forms its identity on the basis of Western civilization. These ideas run counter to the trend of multipolarity and multilateralism in the post-Cold War international relations and do not align with the principles of a just and equitable new international order.

Building a community of shared future for mankind is the only choice for shaping humanity's destiny in the 21st century and the only way to build a better world. To construct a new type of international relations, we must adhere to the principles of mutual respect, fairness, justice, and win-win cooperation. We must forge a new path for countries to interact without confrontation and to partner without forming alliances. All countries and their peoples should enjoy dignity, with nations being equal regardless of their size, strength, wealth, or poverty. Respect for each nation's right to choose its development path should be upheld, and interference in another country's internal affairs should be opposed in order to maintain international fairness and justice. All countries and their peoples should share in the fruits of development. Long-term global development cannot be based on the enrichment of some countries at the expense of others' prolonged poverty. All countries and their peoples should share in security. Countries should work together to respond effectively to various problems and challenges, transforming pressure into motivation and crises into opportunities. They should seek cooperative security, collective security, and common security, replacing confrontation with cooperation and unilateralism with multilateralism. The fate of the world should be in the hands of all the peoples of the world. Matters within the sovereignty of each country should be decided by its own government and people, while global issues should be addressed through consultation among countries and their peoples.

As a grand action plan, building a community of shared future for mankind focuses on three major global initiatives. Capitalism has led to universal human interactions but has not equitably advanced common interests. The world market system and global governance system dominated by the logic of capital are facing profound crises. Peace deficits, development deficits, security deficits, governance deficits, as well as issues such as Western cultural colonization and institutional hegemony, continue to jeopardize human destiny. To tackle global development challenges, address international security threats, promote cultural exchange and mutual learning, China has proposed three global initiatives: global development, global security, and global civilization. Through practical actions, these initiatives implement the concept of a community of shared future for mankind and contribute China's energy and strength to the noble cause of peaceful human development.

As a new type of civilization, the concept of a community of shared future for mankind aims to contribute Chinese ideals and wisdom to building a better world. In the 21st century, human civilization, which has Western civilization as its base, faces a crisis. A single Western civilization cannot continue to serve as the "source of identity, meaning, stability, legitimacy, and hope." Countries worldwide need to make collective efforts, follow the principle of "beauty in all and beauty for all," embrace self-confidence in "mutual beauty," and contribute universally accepted cultural information to humanity. They should reach a universally observed rationale for international interaction, reconstruct human new civilization that is in line with the major direction of international society's development.