Not so long ago the State Council of China published a fundamental report Global Community of Shared Future: China’s Proposals and Actions. This document, to a certain extent, summarizes the implementation of this concept, which China follows in the course of its foreign policy, and offers to the world as a global narrative for the survival of mankind in an era of instability and increasing confrontation.
The idea of creating a community of shared future was first outlined by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 during his speech at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. At that time, the PRC leader raised the question of where humanity is moving and how to reverse the trend toward confrontation and war. In fact, it was an attempt to offer an ideological alternative to the view of the world as a battlefield for world «democracy» and «human rights».
Subsequently, he returned to his original ideas more than once, making additions. Thus, he concretized the concept by proposing five fundamental points:
1. To build interaction between countries on the basis of their equal rights, to solve disputes only through consultations, to strive to understand each other.
2. To jointly create a security environment based on equitable consideration of the interests of all parties.
3. Promote open, innovative and inclusive development that benefits all.
4. Enhance inter-civilizational exchanges to promote harmony, inclusiveness and respect for differences.
5. Build an ecosystem that puts nature and green development first.
Then he went on to propose five goals for the world.
1. Tp build a lasting peace and secure world for all through dialog and consultation.
2. To work together through mutual cooperation to achieve prosperity for all.
3. To build an open and inclusive world through exchange and mutual learning.
4. To make our world clean and beautiful by striving for green and low-carbon development.
Based on this development vision and its promotion in practice, the initiatives of One Belt, One Road, Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative were proposed. In this way, China put the concept into practice without waiting for countries to realize the right path of development and become all as one under the banner of the ideology of the shared future of mankind. By the way, China has invested trillions of yuan in this endeavor.
The point of this story is to develop together, trade, not conflict. The West, which sees the world as an arena of continuous struggle for domination from a neo-colonial position, is trying to discredit the concept of a shared future, claiming, among other things, that it is just a propaganda tool of Beijing. Western media often promote the idea that the concept of community and related initiatives are beneficial only to China. And that Beijing is thus realizing its political and economic interests.
In contrast to the West’s sanctions and protectionist policies, which lead to the erection of barriers and the creation of blocs, China is essentially proposing a new globalization in the Chinese way. The West, which imposed globalization in its own interests, has now reversed the process. The peculiarity of Chinese globalization is that it is pursued in the interests of all participants, China opens up to the world and offers to use the fruits of its rapid development. But the community of global future of mankind is not limited to globalization. It is only one of the practical elements of this concept.
The State Council report explains an important point. At all stages of its development from the primitive communal system, humanity has been interdependent and at the same time has been absorbed by conflicts over the possession of resources. Now, in the era of the information revolution and nuclear weapons, it is necessary to realize that the resources on earth are finite, and the struggle for them will inevitably lead to the self-destruction of mankind.
At the same time, the Chinese Government emphasizes that we are at a critical juncture in history, in an era of unprecedented instability, intensified by several crises. This is the escalation of regional conflicts and the dramatic increase in the risk of nuclear war. It is a crisis of development, entailing a widening gap between the poor and the rich, between «South and North». It is noted that 800 million people in the world suffer from hunger. About the global security crisis, the State Council document says: «Some countries’ hegemonic, abusive, and aggressive actions against others, in the form of swindling, plundering, oppression, and the zero-sum game, are causing great harm. Non-traditional security challenges are on the rise, including terrorism, cyber-attacks, transnational crime, and biological threats». The crisis of governance is expressed in the inability of elites to recognize and adequately respond to real challenges (food, energy and climate risks, among others).
In this dangerous situation, there is no other choice but to realize shared responsibility and work together to overcome unprecedented challenges to global humanity. «It is increasingly obvious that the idea that “all strong countries will seek hegemony”, the obsession with superior strength, and the zero-sum mentality are in conflict with the needs of our times. Humanity is in great need of new ideas that generate positive developments and conform to positive historical trends», the State Council report said. — «The goal is not to replace one system or civilization with another. Instead, it is about countries with different social systems, ideologies, histories, cultures and levels of development coming together to promote shared interests, shared rights, and shared responsibilities in global affairs».
A large section in the document is devoted to China’s concrete efforts in implementing its initiative. First of all, within the framework of the global initiative One Belt, One Road, which involves 190 countries and 30 international organizations. As already mentioned, China has invested trillions of yuan in this. According to a World Bank report, the Belt and Road, when fully implemented, will increase trade within the initiative by 4.1 percent. By 2030, the Belt and Road will generate $1.6 trillion in annual global revenue.
But there are many things that don’t get emphasized. For example, the fact that China is steadily moving toward its own goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. And it is doing so faster than the aggregate West, which talks a lot about this issue. Its contribution to poverty eradication by UN standards exceeds 30 percent as a result of the fact that there are almost no poor people left in China itself who meet these criteria.
It should be added that the idea of the shared future of mankind is included in the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, the CPC Charter, and is fundamental to the foreign policy of the PRC, which is carried out by the CCP Central Committee and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. How does this manifest itself in practice? «China actively advocates the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons, and it is the only nuclear country that has publicly committed to no-first-use of nuclear weapons, and not using or threatening to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states and nuclear-weapon-free zones», the PRC’s State Council document reads.
Despite the existing fundamental disagreements, as soon as the West became ready for constructive dialog, the Chinese leadership decided to reset relations. The PRC-US and PRC-EU summits are testimony to this. Despite the fact that the PRC maintains good political and economic relations with Israel, China has proposed a resolution at the UN to immediately end hostilities in Gaza. Despite the fact that the Taliban (banned in Russia) is recognized as a terrorist movement in the world, Afghanistan’s ambassador started his work in Beijing not so long ago.
To speak with everyone, to settle disputes in negotiations, to see the world as one «big village» and humanity as one community, regardless of race, country and interests. This is the meaning of the concept of the shared future of mankind.