Six years on, Xi's 'shared future' idea still resonates with the world

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A community with a shared future has become a buzzword in Chinese President Xi Jinping's diplomacy, and the term will be once again emphasized in the upcoming Asia civilization dialogue conference held in Beijing in mid-May, which is themed exchanges and mutual learning among Asian civilizations and a community with a shared future.

The idea of a community with a shared future for mankind was put forward by President Xi at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 2013 to proclaim the aspiration of Chinese nation in establishing a harmonious world where all could live peacefully with the spirit of brotherhood.

Now that six years have passed, the idea still resonates with the world and has won wide praise.

What's the concept about?

To serve the common and fundamental interests of the people of China and around the world, President Xi called for the fostering of a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation, and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Yang Jiechi, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, further expounded on the vision at the 55th Munich Security Conference this February, saying it features the principle of sovereign equality, dialogue and consultation, the rule of law and win-win cooperation.

Share a shared vision

President Xi has mentioned the concept on many occasions at home and abroad, showing China's wisdom in global governance and also its determination to work for an equal, open and peaceful world.

At the general debate of the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, President Xi used his first UN debate to promote the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the UN Sustainable Development Summit 2015 at the UN headquarters in New York, September 26, 2015. /Xinhua Photo

Xi said all countries are interdependent and share a common future in today's world, and called on the international community to build a new type of international relations, and create a community with a shared future for mankind.

In January 2017, Xi expounded on the all-win cooperation concept at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos and in a keynote speech at the UN Office at Geneva, calling on all parties to uphold economic globalization.

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a keynote speech at the opening plenary of the 2017 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 17, 2017. /Xinhua Photo

The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in May 2017 in Beijing and the BRICS Leaders Meeting in September 2017 in Xiamen demonstrated China's resolution to build a community with a shared future for mankind by promoting international cooperation.

In a three-and-a-half-hour report delivered in October 2017 at the opening session of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Xi, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, stressed Beijing's aspiration to build a community with a shared future for mankind six times.

During his speech in a ceremony commemorating the bicentenary of the birth of Karl Marx last May, Xi once again called on the world to build a community with a shared future for mankind and create a more beautiful world.

Xi mentioned "shared future" for 12 times during his speech at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation last September, stressing the friendship between China and Africa and China's support towards the continent.

A flower sculpture greets the arrival of the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. /VCG Photo

The second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was held in Beijing this April. Xi reiterated the concept in his keynote speech, saying that "We remain committed to peaceful development and will endeavor to build a community with a shared future for mankind."

From ideal to actions

In 2018, China launched the China International Import Expo in Shanghai which attracted over 3,600 companies from around the world and more than 400,000 Chinese and foreign buyers. Deals for intended one-year purchases of goods and services worth a total of 57.83 billion U.S. dollars were reached at the six-day event.

The China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) celebrated its third anniversary in December. Over the past three years, the investment bank has approved financing worth seven billion U.S. dollars for development projects in Asia and Africa, with the aim to promote sustainable economic development through investment in infrastructure.

The sign of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) /Xinhua Photo

Connecting some 60 countries, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been aligned with many national and regional development strategies, bringing forth more and more cooperative projects, including railways, roads and ports.

As of April 30 this year, 131 countries and 30 international organizations have signed BRI-related cooperation documents with China, according to the official website of the BRI.

The BRI is a manifestation of China's vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, said John W. Allen, former vice chairman of the UN Business Council.

In addition to these development efforts, China has placed great emphasis on creating a safer world to make sustainable development possible, evident in its proposed solutions to risks and conflicts, and increased support for UN peace efforts.

Aerial photo taken on May 8, 2018 shows the Chinese-built Maputo Cross-sea Bridge in Maputo, Mozambique. /Xinhua Photo

How has the world responded to the vision?

Building a community with a shared future for mankind has been written into various documents including UN resolutions and supported by the international community.

The concept was first adopted into an official UN document on February 10, 2017 at the 55th session of the UN Commission for Social Development and it was also enshrined by the UN Security Council, the Human Rights Council and the First Committee of the UN General Assembly, the Qingdao Declaration of the Council of Heads of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Action Plan (2019-2021), turning the Chinese concept into an international consensus.

"China has been a strong pillar of multilateralism," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, highlighting that the aim of multilateralism is to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Referring to Xi's proposals on building a community with a shared future for mankind and building an open world economy, Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the WEF, said they "charted a course for cooperation among countries against the backdrop that economic globalization and the multilateral trading system are facing challenges."

Philipp Charwath, chair of the 55th session of the UN Commission for Social Development, noted that the concept has offered inspiration to a world beset by rising challenges and risks.

"In the long run, it profits us all," Charwath said, "I think that's how I understand the concept, and that's how the UN work can profit from the concept."

According to Ross Terrill, a research associate at Harvard University's Fairbank Center, China's global governance idea focusing on the goal of building a community with a shared future for mankind has shown the country's strategic thoughts on long-term development of bilateral ties between China and other countries, and has injected new impetus into the effort to establish a new world order.

(With inputs from Xinhua)