Chinese President Xi Jinping has elevated the building of a shared future for humanity, which he has been advocating as a major direction of his foreign policy, to the same level as China’s basic principle of foreign relations–the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.
He delivered an important speech at the Conference Marking the 70th Anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence held in Beijing on Friday.
President Xi said, “The ideology of building a shared future for humanity is the best succession, development, and sublimation of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in the new situation. Today, China presented an answer to this generation: building a community with a shared future for mankind.“
He stated, “The ideology of construction of a shared future for humanity and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence are interrelated, both rooted in the excellent traditional Chinese culture of getting along well with neighbors, valuing credit and harmony, and cooperating with all countries.”
He stressed that 70 years ago, in the face of the tragedy of war and the division and confrontation of the Cold War, China presented the groundbreaking Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, for peace and sovereignty. About 70 years later, Xi put forward the idea of constructing a shared future for humanity.
Xi’s Foreign Relations Theory Inserted Into Chinese Constitution in 2018
Xi first mentioned his policy in 2013. The status of his policy rose and was even inserted into the Chinese constitution in 2018.
It is one of the proactive diplomatic lines to propose a Chinese-style state relationship as the answer to resolving the crisis of global governance that has emerged through the global financial crisis. Xi’s mention today is interpreted as an intention to raise the status of Xi’s Ideology to an absolute level in the diplomatic field.
The Chinese Communist Party has put forward keywords such as lasting peace, universal security, common prosperity, openness and inclusiveness, and cleanliness and beauty. It is evaluated to be the root of Chinese political, economic, and cultural expansion attempts such as China’s Belt and Road Initiative (land and sea Silk Road project), Confucius Institutes, and China Dream.
The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence are diplomatic doctrines put forward by then-Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai while preparing for diplomatic relations with India in 1953. It was officially applied in 1954 and became the spiritual basis of the Bandung Conference in Indonesia, which proposed a non-aligned line against the U.S.-Soviet Cold War in May of the following year.
The five principles are mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence. Not only the Chinese authorities but also the countries collectively referred to as the third world continue to emphasize these principles.
Xi’s Criticism Targets U.S
Meanwhile, Xi indirectly criticized the U.S. in his speech on Friday.
He said, “Global affairs should be handled through consultation and discussions among countries. There is no rule that one country must listen to another just because they are stronger.”
He added, “We must oppose the formation of various small factions and the pressure to confront other countries due to factional frictions.”
He also stated, “The strong should not bully the weak, and the rich should not make the poor unable to survive,” adding, “We must respect the different histories, cultural traditions, and development stages of each country, their core interests and major concerns, and the development paths and system models chosen autonomously by the people of each country.”
He promised to provide 1,000 Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence Scholarships and 100,000 training opportunities over the next five years to the Global South countries, where China is focusing on strengthening relations.
He also said China is expected to import more than $8 trillion worth of imports from developing countries by 2030.
Former South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hae Chan, Former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Former Japanese Prime Minister Hosokawa Morihiro, and other foreign dignitaries were among those who attended the event.
