Zhang Lili

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers keynote speech at Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022.(Photo/Xinhua)

Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy,as an important integral part of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era,provides the fundamental rules and a guide to action for China’s diplomatic work in the new era.Coming into being and developed against the background of historic changes occurring to China’s relations with the rest of the world,Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy mainly includes a series of concepts,propositions and proposals on Chinese diplomacy,foreign relations and international relations put forward by General Secretary Xi Jinping since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012.Being rich in connotations,it can be summarized into “Ten Upholds”,with peace,development and win-win cooperation as basic point of departure.Proceeding from the common interests and common values of humanity,General Secretary Xi Jinping has creatively presented a series of new concepts and new initiatives,offering China approach in tackling the question of our time,namely what has happened to the world and what is to be done about it.

UPHOLDING TRUE MULTILATERALISM

At present,profound changes and a pandemic both unseen in a century have produced compound impact on the world,with intensified geopolitical conflicts and great power contest.As an important participant and contributor of global governance system,China has always upheld the international system with the United Nations (UN) at its core,the international order based on international law,and the basic norms of international relations underpinned by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter,and upheld a global governance outlook featuring extensive consultation,joint contribution and shared benefits,being opposed to unilateralism and true to multilateralism,actively developing global partnership,and jointly promoting with concrete actions the construction of a global governance system that is equitable and just.

On major issues such as where is the future of humanity,General Secretary Xi Jinping proposes with foresight the important concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind,emphasizing that the people of all countries should unite and join hands in building a community with a shared future for mankind.Upholding dialogue and consultation,joint contribution with shared benefits,cooperation with winwin results,mutual learning,and green and low carbon development in building a world with lasting peace,universal security,and common prosperity,a world that is open,inclusive,clean and beautiful.The close links between countries of the world have come about naturally,and they cannot easily be decoupled or embargoed by any countries or any leaders.China firmly opposes beggar-thy-neighbor unilateralism and protectionism but rather stands for tolerance and inclusion with the rest of the world,for mutual learning,sharing development results,and more closely connecting common destiny of all humanity.In face of major issues relating to peace and development that the world today direly needs to tackle,to which Western approach is stuck in the mud of zero-sum game and Cold War mentality,in an attempt to maintain their old hegemony and control of international affairs.Against this backdrop,Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy brings to the fore the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind,which goes with the tide of our times,underscores shared dignity,shared development results,and shared guarantee of security of the people of all countries,aiming to truly achieve equality and common development of all countries in the world.

Facing challenges of various uncertainties,all countries should fully understand the value concepts of peace,development and win-win cooperation reflected in the global governance outlook featuring consultation,joint contribution and shared benefits.The principle of consultation,joint contribution and shared benefits embodies Chinese wisdom in a changing global governance system.As a promoter of upholding and practicing true multilateralism,China insists on equality among all countries,big and small,calls on people to talk over their differences,seeking to handle them properly through consultation,by which all countries ought to make joint efforts to resolve issues of world social and economic development.As a responsible major country,China has proposed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI),the Global Development Initiative (GDI),and the Global Security Initiative (GSI),organized the launching of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the New Development Bank,and made unique contributions on practical level to pushing changes on the global governance system toward equity and justice.

General Secretary Xi Jinping has put forward the global governance outlook featuring consultation,joint contribution and shared benefits and promoted the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind,which plays an important role in promoting the process of democratization of international relations.Against the background of ever complicating international relations,hegemonism and power politics have become even less popular.The fact testifies that global issues should be dealt with by common efforts of all countries,and that to go by the principle of multilateralism based on international law is both the core and important manifestation of the global governance outlook and an important way to push the international order to continuously move toward democracy,equity and justice.In 2017,the 71st UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on the UN and global economic governance,into which is written China-proposed principle of extensive consultation,joint contribution and shared benefits.As a member of almost all universal intergovernmental organizations and a signatory to over 600 international conventions and amendments,China has provided assistance of all kinds to more than 160 countries,and extensively helped the least developed countries through China projects.The diplomatic practices above give a vivid rendition of the spirit core of the global governance outlook that features extensive consultation,joint contribution and shared benefits,and have important bearings on promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Light rail built by Chinese company praised by Hajj pilgrims,Mecca.

UPHOLDING MUTUAL BENEFIT AND WIN-WIN RESULTS

The world economic recovery today remains weak,with governance deficit,trust deficit,development deficit and peace deficit being on the rise.Economic globalization encounters reverse current,the international situation altering fraught and uncertain.Global industrial and supply chains are serious impeded by the compound effect of epidemic and other factors,with energy,commodity,and raw material prices soaring.As global economic governance suffers serious backlash,General Secretary Xi Jinping calls for upholding new development philosophy,accelerating new development pattern,and focusing on promoting high-quality development,thus providing strong driving force to stable recovery of world economy.

Environmental services exhibition at China International Fair for Trade in Services,2022.

In September 2021,President Xi Jinping put forward for the first time the GDI at the General Debate of the 76th UN General Assembly,championing the commitment in six areas for global development.In June 2022,President Xi Jinping called for joint contribution of global development partnership featuring solidarity,equality,balance and inclusiveness at the High-Level Dialogue on Global Development.At the same time,China continues to quicken its pace of opening up and to be engaged in building regional and global economic and trade systems for mutual benefit and win-win results.In November 2019,fifteen Asia-Pacific countries including China signed the RCEP,which has come to force with the rectification of most of the countries.Moreover,China is the world’s largest industrial manufacturing nation and its largest trading nation,being the largest trading partner for over 130 countries and regions across the globe.The country has continued to expand domestic demand and promote high-quality opening up,making solid contributions to world trade growth.

The BRI provides an important platform to promote international economic cooperation.Since the BRI was proposed in 2013,it has been positively responded to in the international community especially vast developing countries.By July 2022,China has signed more than 200 cooperative documents with 149 countries and 32 international organizations.The BRI has become the most magnificent international cooperative initiative in human history,and through the Five-Pronged Approach all participating parties have added new drivers to global development,blazed a new trail for international financial cooperation,and injected new vitality into the economic development of vast developing countries.

A Belt and Road featured exhibition at China International Fair for Trade in Services,2022.

China has expanded and deepened friendly cooperation with countries in the Asian-Pacific,African,Latin American,Middle East and South Pacific regions.China and the ASEAN have made historic breakthrough of becoming mutually the largest trading partner of one another,increasing capacity and effectiveness of regional countries through cooperation.China cooperates with the Central Asian countries in production capacity,agriculture and energy with full vitality,both sides looking to the future and jointly promoting economic and trade cooperation to a new stage of upgrading and transformation.China and Africa have come up with the China-Africa Cooperation Vision 2035,and begun implementing the Nine Programs.The two sides have co-proposed in the UN the Initiative on Partnership for Africa’s Development.China and the Latin American countries have set up the Forum of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States,the level of institutionalized cooperation between both sides continuing to rise.China has become the second largest trading partner of Latin America and the third largest source of inward investment,trade volume between both sides hitting a historical record.China and the Gulf Cooperation Council continue to make progress on free trade talks,both sides focusing on improving the level of trade liberalization and facilitation.The Chinese side has issued a position papers on mutual respect and common development with the Pacific Island Countries,put forward 15 principles and taken initiatives and 24 specific cooperative measures,injecting new drivers to practical cooperation for mutual benefit between both sides.

China has constantly upheld and respected human value,upholding concepts and principles of universal benefit,innovation,and green development.Especially on tackling climate change and achieving green development,it actively promotes a new development philosophy of innovative,coordinated,green,open and shared development,calling on the international community to jointly promote a green recovery of world economy.China has actively implemented international conventions and agreements on climate governance such as the Paris Agreement,enhancing its nationally determined contribution and committing to achieve carbon peak before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060.

UPHOLDING SOLIDARITY AND COOPERATION TO DEAL WITH SECURITY CHALLENGES

The global security system sustains ever increasing impact,which is fully demonstrated by traditional security challenges like the Russia-Ukraine conflict and by non-traditional security challenges reflected in frequent and extreme climate incidents.To this,China is firm in safeguarding justice,fairness and solidarity and rejecting hegemony,bullying and division.The country has always held that equal rights,equal opportunities,and equal regulations of all countries should be upheld in global security governance,thus adapting global security governance system to a changed world political and economic reality,striking a balance between security interests of all countries and developing countries in particular,and going with the historical trend of peace,development and win-win cooperation.Facing the situation where in recent years geopolitical issues have propped up frequently,traditional security challenges increasing and non-traditional security impact becoming a reality,President Xi Jinping has put forward the GSI,emphasizing that security is the premise of development,and humanity forms an inseparable security community,promoting a security outlook of common,comprehensive,cooperative and sustainable security.The GSI has made clear the direction of resolving global security dilemma,eradicating the root cause of international conflicts,and achieving lasting peace and tranquility,and gained extensive traction in the international community.

China is firmly opposed to the U.S.-led West that instigates regional division and impairs international order in the name of ideology and value differences to the detriment of world security and fundamental interest of the whole humanity.In face of the emergency of the Russia-Ukraine conflict China has,as always,come to correct assessment of the situation on the basis of the merits of the issue in it,and insisted on that the contradictions should be resolved through diplomatic and peaceful means,and that both parties to the conflict should resolve it appropriately through dialogue and consultation.The Chinese approach to conflicts truly helps safeguard regional peace,relax tensions,and advance the common efforts of all countries in the world to safeguard world peace and stability.

China takes an active part in addressing hot-spot issues in its neighborhood and issues in the wider world.It has played a constructive role on a series of international and regional hot-spot issues including the Iran nuclear issue,that of Afghanistan,and that of the Korean Peninsular,actively conducted cooperation with neighboring countries and other developing countries on anti-terrorism,drug prohibition,police law enforcement,and border security.It has committed to settling disputes over territorial sovereignty and maritime interests with countries directly concerned through consultations and negotiations,and making joint efforts with them to build and preserve a security environment for development.The core of the GSI is based on mutual respect and equality between countries,emphasizing cooperation rather than hierarchical subordination,with its connotation of security being the principle of independence,and its extension of security extending to broader international cooperation,namely that countries should coordinate to tackle traditional security issues,and they ought to effectively safeguard their own security through multilateralism and practical cooperation.

In regard to non-traditional security impact,especially in face of COVID-19 pandemic challenge,China has resolutely stood on the front of international cooperation against the epidemic,focusing on promoting the building of a global community of health for all.On several multilateral occasions such as the WHO,the UN,and the G20,President Xi Jinping has emphasized time and again to insist on the nature of vaccines as a global public product,to guarantee equitable and reasonable distribution of vaccines in the global scope,and to actively promote global cooperative actions on vaccines.China has provided material assistance,medical supports,vaccines assistance,and related R&D cooperation to developing countries whose anti-epidemic capacity is less than sufficient,helping developing countries narrow immunization gap.Furthermore,in regard to other non-traditional security issues like food security,climate change,immigrants and refugees,and energy crisis,China has upheld justice while pursuing shared interests,proceeding from overall planning and coordination,taking comprehensive measures,addressing both symptoms and root causes of problems,and preventing the extension of the problems from stretching.The GSI aims to safeguard the common interests of the humanity as a whole,presents a new understanding of the laws governing global security,and provides latest scientific countermeasures in preventing and coping with global security risks that are likely to exist.

CONCLUSION

China (Haikou) Overseas Students Pioneer Park.

Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy answers the question of the world,and the question of our times in a scientific way,being an important theoretic result of synthesizing basic tenets of Marxism with major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics,serving as the fundamental rules and a guide to action for China’s international relations in the new era,highlighting utmost purpose of people first,fully demonstrating the CPC’s aspiration to seek happiness for the Chinese people and seek development for the world as a whole on its journey toward realization of the Two Centenary Goals,and providing solid and practical concepts and solutions to a host of complex and arduous issues facing human society.Standing on the commanding height of promoting development and progress of human society,Xi Jinping Thought combines China’s development with that of the world as a whole,and combines the interests of the Chinese people and that of the people of the rest of the world,both displaying a profound command of the mega trend of the world that features interconnection and interdependence,and providing Chinese approach to complicated and serious global challenges.It has agglomerated the people of all countries to full potential in joint building of a better world,and plays an important role in handling and resolving major regional and global issues and promoting global common development.Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy,China will continue to hold high the banner of peace,development and win-win cooperation,promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind,create a favorable international environment for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,and make still greater contributions to world peace and prosperity.