Wang Yiwei: Getting a global community of shared future right

Editor's note: Wang Yiwei is Jean Monnet chair professor and director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University of China. 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of China-proposed idea of building a global community of shared future. The article reflects the author's opinions on the idea and not necessarily those of CGTN.

China's State Council Information Office issued a white paper in September, giving a comprehensive introduction to the vision of a global community of shared future. 

"The vision of a global community of shared future stands on the right side of history and on the side of human progress. It introduces a new approach for international relations, provides new ideas for global governance, opens up new prospects for international exchanges, and draws a new blueprint for a better world," said the white paper.

Saying China will work closely with the international community for the common good of humanity, Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to implement the vision and make the world a better place for all during his 2024 New Year address. 

Could you briefly explain the China-proposed vision of "building a global community of shared future"?

Wang: The idea of building a global community of shared future, put forward by Xi in 2013, did not come about by accident. It was the product of a time when the Chinese nation, or essentially, the Chinese civilization, was advancing toward great rejuvenation. That rejuvenation involves, then and now, seeking common ground. It stands in contrast to the trends of replacing some values with others or promoting self-righteous binary opposition that leads to expansion and confrontation. This is because Chinese culture is a non-monotheistic culture, where Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism coexist, and a civilization that promotes humanism. On this basis, China has proposed the common values of humanity, as opposed to "universal values" defined by a handful of Western countries, pursuing the building of an inclusive community to the greatest extent possible.

The vision of a global community of shared future has also answered a question: What is the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation about? It aims neither to revive Sinocentrism nor surpass American hegemony. Instead, a global community of shared future is future oriented and sets a new direction for the international community to end and bid farewell to hegemony. The vision is not only a great banner that leads China's major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, but is also the right path forward, representing the shared expectations of countries across the world, and seeking to create the greatest synergy among values and turn all peoples' longing for a better life into reality.

A global community of shared future is a fact. In a negative sense, the COVID-19 pandemic and global climate change have revealed that humans are all members of a global village. Humans are jointly responsible for their actions and pursue harmony with nature. But humans also coexist with nature. Actively pursuing the building of a global community of shared future is a choice in a positive sense. So a global community of shared future is a fact, a goal, and also a vision. Building it requires concerted efforts from the international community to chart the main path on a continued basis.

In summary, 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), Global Security Initiative (GSI) and Global Civilization 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, and usher in a bright future of peace, security, prosperity and progress for the world.

2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the idea of building a global community of shared future as well as Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). In the past decade, China also proposed the GDI, GSI and GCI. Could you elaborate on how these initiatives fit into the concept of a global community of shared future?

Wang: China has initiated a range of visionary initiatives, including the BRI, the GDI, the GSI and the GCI. The BRI helps unleash the productive forces of countries of the Global South, build better global production relations, and improve the global governance system.

In terms of ideology and shaping a sound global political ecosystem, the GDI focuses on achieving sustainable development goals and shoring up weak links. The GSI seeks to address weaknesses in security. The GCI aims to improve the underlying logic of globalization so that different countries can follow development paths that suit their national conditions, make traditional culture nurture modernization, and create a new pattern of human civilization.

These initiatives offer proof that the vision of a global community of shared future reinforces the principle of sovereign equality established under the United Nations Charter and pursues equality of capabilities and results while upholding the UN-centered international order and system and aligning with all kinds of goals put forward by the UN. The vision looks at the world, as a family, from a holistic standpoint and with the greatest inclusiveness.

The vision of a global community of shared future has been written into not only the Constitution of the Communist Party of China and the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, but also relevant resolutions passed by the UN. Peter Thomson, president of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly, said building a global community of shared future is "the only future for humanity on this planet."

2023 featured frequent major country diplomacy between China and other countries. For example, the first China-Central Asia Summit was held in northwest China's Xi'an City with "fostering a closer China-Central Asia Community of Shared Future" an important fruit of the summit. Taking this as an example, how do you think the idea of global community of shared future helps China better engage with other countries and deepen friendly exchanges and mutual cooperation with its neighbors?

Wang: Building a global community of shared future should start from the local neighborhood. Take Central Asia as an example. The five Central Asian countries are landlocked. More than 2,000 years ago, the ancient Silk Road passed through the territory of Central Asia. Today, China promotes the building of the China-Central Asia community of shared future. Thanks to land-and-sea connectivity achieved through the Belt and Road Initiative, Central Asian countries have found a way to connect with other countries, thus reducing regional development disparities and changing their destiny following a lack of interconnectivity for years.

The cooperation with Central Asia, by building a community of shared future with Central Asian countries where Islam is practiced and Persian culture is influential, also provides evidence for China's efforts to rise above religious countries and monotheistic civilizations in promoting a global community of shared future. A global community of shared future seeks to create the greatest synergy among various values and gather the longing for a better life among the people of different countries into the dream of humanity.

China has published documents explaining its stance towards the Ukraine crisis and the Palestine-Israel situation, and also brokered a deal for Iran and Saudi Arabia to resume diplomatic ties. What do you think of the diplomatic intent behind those activities and are these stances linked to the idea of building a global community of shared future? How do you think China will continue contributing to politically resolving hotspot issues, with the idea of building a global community of shared future as long-term objective?

Wang: In February 2023, China issued a paper stating its position on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis and in March, Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to restore diplomatic ties in a deal brokered by China. Playing an active role in mediating conflicts is an important diplomatic practice and concept in the Global Security Initiative and of course echoes the building of a global community of shared future. Humans live in the same temporal-spatial system where each has a stake in others. The same holds true for Palestine and Israel. The two in fact share the same temporal-spatial system and worship the God of Abraham.

The Western geopolitical concept of divide and rule could only result in deadlock. With its vision of building a global community of shared future, China has helped Sunni-led Saudi Arabia and Shia-dominant Iran achieve reconciliation. In the future, China will use the same vision to help with the reconciliation between different nations or ideologies and truly pursue the common good. The vision embodies the tradition of China's diplomacy, based on traditional Chinese culture that embraces inclusiveness, pursues the ideal of solidarity towards common progress and values the primacy of harmony.

Another example is the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Ukraine and Russia are in fact brothers that have many connections in the origin of their civilization, national movement, history and culture. But now they are fighting and have created so many tragedies.

All in all, the vision of building a global community of shared future entails looking at the world from the perspective of humanity and a global standpoint. Based on this, all conflicts and wars of humanity are a fight between brothers, and fights between people and religions once from the same family.

Adhering to this vision, China will publish more position documents and engage in diplomatic mediation more proactively. China will also adopt forward-looking thinking and make efforts to prevent conflict from occurring in the first place, to shape a sound global political ecosystem and realize lasting peace.

(Cover: The "Community of Shared Future" flower bed at the square in front of the Military Museum in Beijing, China, September 22, 2023. /CFP)