Xi Jinping Diplomacy Research Center: The Worldview, Order, and Values Embodied in Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind
General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized: "In the midst of changes unseen in a century, the world is interconnected and shares weal and woe; humanity has a shared future," and "Building a community with a shared future for humanity is the way forward for all the world’s peoples." The "Decision" of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee proposed: "External work must firmly uphold an independent foreign policy of peace and promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity." Building a community with a shared future for humanity is the core concept of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, the lofty goal pursued by major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, and the way forward for the people of all countries. This concept is a major theoretical achievement resulting from combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and fine traditional Chinese culture; it is a creative and innovative expression of Eastern wisdom in international relations theory, lifting our Party's understanding of the laws governing the development of human society to a new height. The Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs held at the end of last year pointed out that building a community with a shared future for humanity "embodies the worldview, view of order, and values of the Chinese Communists." We must gain a deep grasp of the worldview, view of order, and values embodied in building a community with a shared future for humanity and profoundly comprehend its intellectual power in leading the times.
Building a community with a shared future for humanity is a Chinese solution regarding what kind of world to build and how to build it, embodying the worldview of the Chinese Communists
A worldview consists of the general and fundamental outlooks people hold regarding the world. The scientific and revolutionary nature of Marxist theory stems from the scientific worldview and methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, providing us with a powerful intellectual weapon to understand and transform the world. As early as more than 170 years ago, Marx and Engels scientifically predicted the inevitable trend of human history increasingly becoming world history and human development moving toward integration. Ancient Chinese thinkers were adept at viewing the world from the perspective of the interconnectedness of all things, emphasizing the organic correlation of the entire world, forming a cosmology of "unity of heaven and man" (tianren heyi) [1] and an international outlook of "harmony among all nations" (xiehe wanbang) [2], which have accumulated as the fine genetic markers of Chinese culture. The Communist Party of China is both a firm believer and practitioner of Marxism and a faithful inheritor and promoter of fine traditional Chinese culture. The concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity adheres to the scientific Marxist worldview and methodology, draws upon cultural genes such as "the world belongs to the public" (tianxia weigong) [3] and "harmony among all nations," deeply grasps the general trends and evolving laws of human society, comprehensively examines the interactive relationship between China and the world, and provides a Chinese solution for answering major questions concerning human peace and development.
What kind of world to build and how to build it is a question of the times facing all of humanity. Some countries and political parties are confused by the complex phenomena and contradictions in today's international community, unable to see the essence and trends of the global situation; some proceed from their own narrow interests, ignoring the trend of global interconnectivity and attempting to engage in division and confrontation. The Communist Party of China always persists in seeking happiness for the Chinese people, rejuvenation for the Chinese nation, progress for humanity, and the Great Unity (datong) [4] for the world. Chinese Communists have always possessed a deep global vision and a broad sentiment for the world (tianxia). The concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity stands at the height of the collective interests of all humanity. With an attitude of responsibility toward the future and destiny of mankind, it offers a profound insight into the state and trend of converging interests and interwoven destinies between nations. It treats all of humanity as one big family with a shared future, advocating that countries with different social systems, ideologies, histories, cultures, and levels of development should achieve symbiosis of interests, sharing of rights, and joint responsibility in international affairs to collectively meet human challenges and build a more prosperous and beautiful world. This is precisely a vivid manifestation of the Chinese Communists' worldview, fully demonstrating their global vision and world-oriented sentiment, and embodying their scientific insight into the direction of human development and high level of care for the future of humanity.
From the "Five-Sphere Integrated Plan" overall framework to the "Five Worlds" [5] general goal, and then to the "four beams and eight pillars" [6] that clarify the developmental goals, pathways, universal principles, basic supports, strategic guidance, and practical platforms for building a community with a shared future for humanity, the historical perspective of this concept has continuously expanded and its intellectual connotations have deepened. It profoundly answers what kind of world to build and how to build it. Promoting the building of a community with a shared future for humanity has been written into the Constitution of China and the Constitution of the CPC, becoming China's firm commitment to the world and to history. The report to the 20th CPC National Congress explicitly stated that promoting the building of a community with a shared future for humanity is one of the essential requirements of Chinese-path modernization. This endeavor combines China’s development with global development, closely linking China’s destiny with that of humanity, building a bridge and clarifying a path for Chinese-path modernization to both benefit the Chinese people and promote common global development. Building a community with a shared future for humanity has expanded from a Chinese initiative to an international consensus, and from a beautiful vision into rich practice, powerfully pushing the world toward a bright future of peace, security, prosperity, and progress.
Building a community with a shared future for humanity promotes the joint defense of the basic norms of international relations and the maintenance of international fairness and justice, embodying the Chinese Communists' view of order
A view of order reflects the cognition of and attitude toward the global landscape and its operational laws, as well as the advocacy and vision for the future international order. Establishing a just and reasonable international order has always been a goal pursued diligently by humanity. Since the dawn of the modern era, from the principles of equality and sovereignty established by the Peace of Westphalia to the spirit of international humanitarianism established by the Geneva Conventions; from the four purposes and seven principles clarified by the UN Charter to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence [7] advocated by the Bandung Conference, these recognized principles accumulated through the evolution of international relations have become the important foundation for building a community with a shared future for humanity and promoting global governance toward a more just and reasonable direction.
The concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity advocates firmly safeguarding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and upholding the authority and status of the United Nations. it insists that there is only one system in the world, which is the international system with the United Nations at its core; there is only one order, which is the international order based on international law; and there is only one set of rules, which are the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. Regarding state-to-state relations, this concept advocates promoting the construction of a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice, and win-win cooperation, striving to forge a new path for international engagement. Regarding global governance, the concept takes the promotion of global governance through extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits as its implementation path. It insists on true multilateralism, advocating that international rules should be written and maintained by all countries together, and that world affairs should be handled through consultation; it cannot allow whoever has the "thicker arm" to call the shots. Sovereign equality, mutual respect, justice, true multilateralism... the view of order of the Chinese Communists embodied in this concept rejects the "law of the jungle" where the weak are prey to the strong. It transcends outdated and narrow concepts such as "bloc politics" and "spheres of influence" as well as adversarial thinking. It breaks through traditional international political frameworks such as Realism (which emphasizes power politics), Liberalism (which emphasizes international institutions), and Constructivism (which reflects Western value preferences). It demonstrates that the Chinese Communists always stand on the right side of history and the side of human civilization's progress, maintaining a firm stance in defending the basic norms of international relations and upholding international fairness and justice.
Currently, the existing international order faces multiple challenges. Unilateralism, protectionism, and de-globalization are on the rise. Hegemonic, imperious, and bullying acts—such as using strength to bully the weak, extortion, and zero-sum games—are causing deep harm. Certain countries attempt to replace recognized principles and norms of international law with a so-called "rules-based order" to achieve the goal of containing other countries' economic growth and technological development. The transformation of the international system is at a critical juncture. In response to the series of major issues facing today's world, China advocates for an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. These two major propositions have strong practical relevance and strategic guidance. A multipolar world is the general trend of historical development and the direction of historical progress. An equal and orderly multipolar world emphasizes the equality of all nations, large or small, and ensures that the process of multipolarization is generally stable and constructive, providing an important path for promoting a more just and reasonable global governance system. Economic globalization is an objective requirement of the development of productive forces and the inevitable path for human social progress. Universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization emphasizes resolving the imbalance of development between and within countries caused by the global allocation of resources, supporting all countries in following development paths that suit their own national conditions, and working together to advance the common development of all humanity. These two propositions align with the universal appeals of most countries and peoples, pointing the direction for the international community to move from chaos to lasting peace and injecting continuous momentum into building a community with a shared future for humanity.
Building a community with a shared future for humanity converges the consensus on values among people of different nations, faiths, cultures, and regions, embodying the values of the Chinese Communists
Values are the fundamental viewpoints, outlooks, and attitudes that people form through long-term social practice. In the process of differentiated development, human civilizations have formed a common core of values. This is the spiritual bond that connects different civilizations, countries, and nations, and the deep driving force for the continuous advancement of human civilization. To promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, it is especially necessary to condense the value consensus of people from all countries and gather their spiritual strength. The common values of humanity—peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom—serve as the value guidance for building a community with a shared future for humanity. They lay the value foundation for solidarity and cooperation among all peoples and embody the values of the Chinese Communists. The common values of humanity both promote the common values that advance human progress and respect the particularity and differences of different countries and civilizations in their paths to realizing these values. This embodies a value pursuit that insists on the unity of universality and particularity, and the principles of "harmony in diversity" (he er butong) [8] and "admiring each other's beauty" (meimei yugong) [9].
Peace and development are the common cause of all countries; equity and justice are the common ideals of all countries; democracy and freedom are the common pursuit of all countries. The common values of humanity connect multiple levels—individuals, nations, and the world—meaningfully capturing the commonalities in value connotations and value realization across different civilizations. The proposal of the common values of humanity is a profound innovation in value concepts in the history of human thought. It transcends differences in ideology, social systems, and developmental levels, and transcends the narrow historical limitations of so-called "universal values." It reveals the profound value connotations of the concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity, providing a clear answer to what true common values are. It offers a solid value bond for the international community to achieve the broadest possible solidarity and injects powerful spiritual impetus into the development of human civilization in the right direction, contributing to the progress of human civilization in a world of turbulence and change.
Promoting the common values of humanity does not mean regarding the values of one single party as supreme, but rather advocating for seeking common ground while reserving differences and harmony in diversity. It means fully respecting the diversity of civilizations and the right of all countries to independently choose their social systems and development paths. The Communist Party of China is committed to working with all peace-loving countries and peoples to promote the common values of humanity. It seeks to understand the perceptions of different civilizations regarding value connotations with a broad mind, allowing exchange among civilizations to transcend estrangement, mutual learning to transcend conflict, and inclusiveness to transcend superiority. It respects the exploration by people of different countries of their own development paths, enabling one's own civilization to thrive while creating conditions for the development of others. We strive to build a new pattern of exchange and mutual learning between different civilizations within the same temporal and spatial environment, contributing more wisdom and strength to the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.
(Authors: Wu Xiaodan, Zhang Weipeng) People's Daily (December 12, 2024, Page 09)