ON the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Chinese President Xi Jinping floating the idea of building a global community of shared future and the eve of the 74th Anniversary of China’s Independence Day, a White Paper has been released to elaborate the theoretical base, practice and development of a global community of shared future by presenting China’s vision of the course of human development.
Titled “A Global Community of Shared Future: China’s Proposals and Actions’, the White Paper elucidates the way forward amidst the mayhem created in the tumultuous challenges in which the world seeks solutions to the myriad issues faced by it. Still teetering from the effects of the global pandemic COVID-19, economic meltdown, global warming and likelihoods of conflict, the White Paper offers a path which can boldly alleviate the suffering of the entire humankind.
The paper provides a ray of hope, promising “To build a global community of shared future to pursue openness, inclusiveness, mutual benefit, equity and justice.” The proposal elucidates that the goal is not to replace one system or civilization with another. Instead, it is about countries with different social systems, ideologies, histories, shared rights and shared responsibilities in global affairs.
It is essential to appreciate that in the face of diversity, it is prudent to shed biases aside and remove the myopic blinkers of hegemonic design since Xi Jinping’s proposals and actions are not for China’s own benefit or self-interest, but for the common good of humanity. The concept of a global community of shared future has deep roots in China’s extremely rich cultural heritage and its unique experience of modernization. It carries forward the diplomatic traditions of China and draws on the outstanding achievements of all other civilizations. The White Paper also manifests China’s time-honored historical traditions, distinct characteristics of the times and a wealth of humanistic values.
Not being content with highlighting only the issues and enumerating the merits of the document, the White Paper also provides a compass to ascertain the direction and plan to build a global community of shared future including pressing ahead with a new type of economic globalization in which countries need to pursue a policy of openness and explicitly oppose protectionism, the erection of fences and barriers, unilateral sanctions and maximum-pressure tactics, so as to unite various fiscal pursuits and jointly build an open world economy.
While volumes have been written on the mega projects like China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), New Development Bank (formerly BRICS Bank) and other initiatives, it is imperative to acknowledge Beijing’s active implementation of its own ideas, offering the world a glimpse of its immense achievements. In the decade since the concept of building a global community of shared future was first introduced by Xi Jinping, China has demonstrated its capacity of building a global community of shared future with firm conviction and solid actions to validate the efficacy of its proposals that have been tried and tested.
In the previous decade, who could have conceptualized China’s contribution to resolving volatile issues through diplomacy. The mediation of China between Saudi Arabia and Iran set a precedent that hostilities in the region can be halted and rapprochement achieved by resolving disputes to achieve good neighborly relations through dialogue and consultation, catalyzing a wave of conciliation in the Middle East.
Besides offering to settle the Ukrainian crisis and addressing other flashpoints, Beijing has also proposed a range of regional and bilateral initiatives on building communities of shared future and working with stakeholders to build consensus and expand cooperation, thereby playing a constructive role in promoting regional peace and development. A case in point is building international cooperation in challenges of combating the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing disorder in cyberspace governance and dealing with the global climate challenge.
It is heartening that in the interregnum of the past decade, the vision of a global community of shared future has gained broader support. The White Paper rightly identifies the observation that more countries and people have come to the realization that this vision serves the common interests of humanity, represents popular calls for peace, justice and progress, and can create the greatest synergy among all nations for building a better world.
The timing of the issuance of the White Paper is also noteworthy. International academics have concluded that apart from marking the 10th anniversary of the proposal of the substantial concept, as mentioned earlier, the world is in severe turbulence and experiencing profound changes which have not been seen in the past century. Resultantly, think tanks and intelligentsia across the world have been in the quest of solutions. In this grim backdrop, taking up the challenge and signifying its role as a responsible state which has gained a remarkable stature in economic and scientific growth, China has come forward to contribute its experience, wisdom and actions to meet the exigence of this era.
Chinese culture, which necessitates deeper study, motivated this scribe to author the book “Gleaming Gems of Chinese Culture”. My humble dedication is that the scarlet thread of this ancient wisdom provides the concept of nature and promotes “uniting human and universe”. In simpler terms, it proliferates the concept of international relations which can be perceived in the realm of “affinity between all people and peace among all nations”.
This is in consonance with the new Law on Foreign Relations of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) which was adopted at the Third Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress on June 28, 2023. By promulgating the new law, PRC has resolved to continue pursuing a path of peaceful development and adhere to the fundamental policy of opening to the outside world and a strategy of opening-up for mutual benefit.
Moving beyond the domain of its foreign policy, China’s White Paper on building a global community of shared future focuses on Beijing’s contribution to global efforts to protect the shared home and create a better future of prosperity for all. —The writer is a Retired Group Captain of PAF, who has written several books on China.
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