By Guo Jiping, The Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs was held in Beijing at the end of 2023, which pointed out that building a community with a shared future for mankind is the noble goal pursued by China in conducting major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics for the new era.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), under the glorious banner of the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, China has opened up new prospects in major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics and gained much more strategic autonomy and initiative in its diplomacy. China has become a responsible major country with enhanced international influence, a stronger capacity to steer new endeavors and greater moral appeal.
On March 23, 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, pointing out that the world is increasingly becoming a community with a shared future in which everyone’s interest is closely interlinked. Ever since, he has expounded on this vision multiple times to the world, constantly enriching the theoretical base of the community with a shared future for mankind.
In building a community with a shared future for mankind, the goal is to build an open, inclusive, clean, and beautiful world of lasting peace, universal security, and shared prosperity, the pathway is promoting global governance that features extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit, the guiding principle is to apply the common values of humanity, the basic underpinning lies in building a new type of international relations, the strategic guidance comes from the implementation of the Global Development Initiative ( GDI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI) and the Global Civilizations Initiative (GCI), and the platform for action is high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. On this basis, China seeks to bring countries together to meet challenges and achieve prosperity for all.
Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, Xi has visited more than 70 countries on the five continents during his more than 40 overseas visits, hosted and attended a series of important multilateral diplomatic activities, and received more than 100 international political dignitaries. He has maintained extensive contacts with various sectors of society in different countries, building a global network of partnerships for China.
China is committed to fostering major-country dynamics featuring peaceful coexistence, overall stability, and balanced development, and acts on the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit, and inclusiveness, and the policy of developing friendships and partnerships with neighbors. Guided by the principles of sincerity, real results, amity, and good faith and taking the right approach to friendship and interests, China endeavors to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with other developing countries. It has constantly advanced its diplomatic agenda in a comprehensive, multilevel, and multifaceted diplomatic layout.
For more than a decade, under the guidance of Xi, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has expanded beyond the borders of China to become an international effort. It has become a platform for building a community with a shared future for mankind, where relevant parties have been brought together, carrying out thousands of cooperation projects with solid deliverables.
Moreover, the BRI has built synergy with the development strategies of multiple countries. It has been joined by more than 150 countries, and over 30 specialized multilateral cooperation platforms have been established under it. Besides, the initiative has been incorporated into important documents of the United Nations, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and other international organizations and mechanisms.
To promote the development and progress of human society, Xi has proposed the GDI, the GSI, and the GCI in recent years, which point to the direction of human progress across the three dimensions and have built a broad consensus and strong force in the international community to strengthen cooperation, face challenges together, and create a better future.
So far, more than 100 countries and international organizations have voiced their support for the GDI, and over 70 countries have joined the Group of Friends of the GDI. The GDI has been incorporated into cooperation documents between China and dozens of countries and international organizations, with hundreds of cooperation projects having been implemented.
On March 10, 2023, Saudi Arabia and Iran reached a Beijing agreement. China, Saudi Arabia, and Iran issued a joint statement announcing that Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to resume diplomatic relationships and engage in cooperation. Facilitating the restoration of diplomatic ties between the two countries exactly mirrored the efforts made by Xi to guide China to implement the GSI.
In March 2023, Xi proposed the GCI at the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting, where he advocated respect for the diversity of civilizations, the common values of humanity, the importance of inheritance and innovation of civilizations, and robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.
Xi noted that the CPC has led the Chinese people in not only bringing about the two miracles of rapid economic growth and enduring social stability but also successfully pioneering a uniquely Chinese path to modernization, creating a new model for human advancement.
Chinese modernization, as a new form of human advancement, will draw upon the merits of other civilizations and make the garden of world civilizations more vibrant. When China and the rest of the world join hands on the path towards modernization in the new era, it will surely make new and greater contributions to promoting peace and development and building a community with a shared future for mankind.
The year 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and is critical for the realization of the goals and tasks set in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025). On the new journey, major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics will continue to forge ahead under the glorious banner of building a community with a shared future for mankind, bringing countries together to meet challenges and achieve common prosperity, and ushering in a bright future of peace, security, prosperity, and progress for the world.
