Zuo Fengrong: Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy Makes a Unique Contribution to Promoting the Progress of Human Civilization
Abstract: With the goals of achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for humanity, Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy inherits and develops the essence of fine traditional Chinese culture, forming an expansive and profound system of scientific theory. Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy represents a breakthrough and evolution of traditional concepts in international relations, effectively advancing the tide of human civilization and progress. It advocates for equality and mutual respect among all nations and civilizations to safeguard the diversity and unity of human civilization; it promotes mutual learning and exchange between different civilizations to advance the inheritance and innovation of culture; and it emphasizes that global governance is a civilized achievement of human development, actively advancing international fairness and justice.
Keywords: Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy; human civilization; peaceful development; a community with a shared future for humanity
The world today is undergoing great changes unseen in a century [1], and the global landscape has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation. Power politics, the Cold War mentality, the fetishization of military force, and the incitement of major-power competition based on strength threaten the peace and development of human society. Against this backdrop, General Secretary Xi Jinping has profoundly grasped the general trend of world development. Starting from the perspective of the future and destiny of humanity, he has achieved a series of major theoretical and practical innovations in foreign affairs work, forming Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy. Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy inherits and develops fine traditional Chinese culture, serves the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, persists in the path of peaceful development, promotes the construction of a community with a shared future for humanity and a new type of international relations, actively participates in the reform and construction of the global governance system, and respects the diversity and unity of world civilizations, making a unique contribution to the progress of human civilization.
Persisting in the Path of Peaceful Development and Promoting the Trend of Progress in Human Civilization
The Industrial Revolution propelled globalization into a major historical trend. From the perspective of the developmental process of global history, powerful nations have undoubtedly been the primary forces shaping the world. Nations that took the lead in discovering the New World and achieving the Industrial Revolution—such as Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, the United States, and Japan—sequentially became the dominant forces influencing the development of international society. These countries shaped the world through continuous aggression and expansion; the notion that "a powerful state must seek hegemony" [2] seemed to become an iron law. In the 21st century, the rise of China—an Eastern nation distinct from European civilization—has captured the world's attention. Western countries, viewing China through the lens of traditional experience and thinking, have sought to contain and guard against it. General Secretary Xi Jinping has explicitly stated to the world that China resolutely "will not follow the old path of colonial pillage, nor the crooked path of seeking hegemony once strong, but will take the righteous path of peaceful development." By following the path of peaceful development, China has blazed a new trail for the rise of a major power, which conforms to the trend of human development and progress and will further propel the advancement of human civilization.
Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy advocates for the path of peaceful development and a new approach to state-to-state interaction characterized by dialogue rather than confrontation, and partnership rather than alliance. This breaks the tradition of defining power by strength and the "powerful state must seek hegemony" model, representing a breakthrough and innovation in traditional international relations concepts. Since the beginning of the modern era, the logic behind changes in international relations has been the antiquated reasoning of the "law of the jungle," zero-sum games, and bloc confrontation. This reflects a history of major-power struggles for hegemony, where powerful nations often became hegemons deciding the fate of others. Since the end of the Cold War, Western countries, led by the United States, have continued to adhere to traditional concepts formed in the modern era, pursuing absolute power and interests while emphasizing major-power competition and bloc politics. In their view, "International politics has always been a ruthless and dangerous business, and it is likely to remain so. Although the intensity of great-power competition waxes and wanes, great powers fear each other and always compete with each other for power. The overriding goal of each state is to maximize its share of world power, which means gaining power at the expense of other states." [3] This runs counter to the developmental trend of the current era. Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy opposes this traditional zero-sum thinking and the logic of power politics, emphasizing that all countries, large or small, are equal, and opposing the bullying of the small by the large or the weak by the strong.
China’s persistence in the path of peaceful development reflects the inheritance of Chinese civilization. "The prominent peace-loving nature of Chinese civilization fundamentally determines that China will always be a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of the international order. It determines that China will continuously pursue civilizational exchange and mutual learning rather than cultural hegemony. It determines that China will not impose its own values and political systems on others. It determines that China persists in cooperation rather than confrontation and will never engage in 'forming cliques to persecute those who disagree' [4]." On the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence [5], China is committed to developing partnerships with all countries, promoting mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation among major powers. It deepens relations with neighboring countries in accordance with the concept of "amity, sincerity, mutual benefit, and inclusiveness" [6] and the peripheral diplomacy policy of "forging friendships and partnerships with neighbors." It strengthens unity and cooperation with developing countries by upholding the "correct conception of victory and righteousness" [7] and the principles of "sincerity, real results, amity, and good faith."
China's adherence to the path of peaceful development is also a conscious application of the laws of historical development. Although the world today is intertwined with change and disorder, and the "great changes unseen in a century" are accelerating, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized: "The aspiration of the people of all countries for a better life is what we strive for; the trend of the times—peace, development, cooperation, and win-win results—is irresistible." A major reason for the smooth advancement of Chinese-path modernization is that it conforms to this trend, and China is an important force driving it. In March 2013, during his first overseas visit after assuming the presidency, Xi Jinping clearly stated China's diplomatic stance to the international community, emphasizing that "Humanity lives in the same global village, in the same space and time where history and reality intersect, increasingly becoming a community with a shared future where we are all part of each other." "Faced with profound changes in the international situation and the objective requirement for all countries to pull together in the same boat, all nations should jointly promote the establishment of a new type of international relations with win-win cooperation at its core." "China will unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development, committing itself to promoting open development, cooperative development, and win-win development, while calling on all countries to jointly follow the path of peaceful development." For China, following the path of peaceful development is not a temporary tactic, much less diplomatic rhetoric; it is a conclusion drawn from objective judgments of history, reality, and the future, reflecting the historical consciousness of Chinese Communists. History since the 20th century shows that countries attempting to achieve world hegemony or challenge the international order have not succeeded—such as Germany, which launched two world wars; Japan, which continuously expanded outward; and the Soviet Union, which promoted its own model globally. None achieved lasting prosperity and development. "We must discard old thinking such as zero-sum games and 'I win, you lose,' and establish new concepts of win-win and all-win, taking into account the interests of others while pursuing one's own, and promoting common development while seeking one's own development." China’s path of peaceful development provides stability for a world in a period of turbulence and transformation, opening a new path for civilizational interaction between nations.
Advocating for the Equal Treatment of All Civilizations to Safeguard the Diverse Development of Human Civilization
Since the emergence of the history of human civilization, the world has always been diverse. The colonial systems and modernization processes promoted by the West have not fundamentally altered this diversity. Today's world has more than 2,500 ethnic groups, over 200 countries and regions, diverse cultures and religions, and different social systems and institutional mechanisms. The process of modernization impacts vulnerable groups and their cultures, necessitating the discovery of a correct path to maintain world diversity and ensure the harmonious coexistence of all civilizations.
Starting from the reality of world diversity, Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy advocates for equality and mutual respect among all countries and civilizations. Civilizational and religious strifes are not uncommon in today's world; the conflict between India and Pakistan and the Arab-Israeli conflict have not been fundamentally resolved. Some powerful nations cling to the Cold War mentality, possessing a sense of cultural and civilizational superiority and always seeking to impose their own concepts and values on the world, attempting to transform other countries and nations by replacing diversity with uniformity, thereby triggering many new conflicts. These conflicts affect not only state-to-state relations but also regional and global stability. Eliminating these contradictions and conflicts requires civilizational tolerance and mutual appreciation, as well as treating the "other" as an equal. General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed: "We should uphold the principle of 'appreciating the beauty of others to achieve shared beauty' [8]... There is no conflict between civilizations; there is only a lack of eyes to appreciate the beauty of all civilizations." "We should persist in openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and exchange... We should break down the barriers to cultural exchange with a broad mind as expansive as the sea receiving all rivers, and absorb the nutrients of other civilizations with an inclusive attitude, promoting the common progress of Asian civilizations through exchange and mutual learning." These principles apply not only to Asia but to the whole world.
The world moves forward through the exchange and interaction of diverse civilizations, yet ideological prejudice often leads to conflict and confrontation. Discarding ideological prejudice and preventing the world from falling into a "New Cold War" has become a vital demand of the world's people today. The so-called competition of values—"democracy versus autocracy" or "freedom versus dictatorship"—launched by European and American countries carries the risk of plunging the world into a New Cold War vortex, interfering with economic globalization and the peaceful development of the world. In response, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must establish an awareness of a community with a shared future where we are all part of each other, leap out of small circles and zero-sum game thinking, establish the concept of a big family and win-win cooperation, discard ideological disputes, cross the trap of 'the clash of civilizations,' and mutually respect the development paths and models independently chosen by each country, letting world diversity become the inexhaustible driver of human social progress and the natural form of the colorful tapestry of human civilization." The diversity of social systems is historically formed; "Just as there are no two identical leaves in the world, there are no identical historical cultures or social systems. The historical cultures and social systems of all countries have their own merits, with no distinction of superior or inferior. The key lies in whether they conform to the country's national conditions, whether they win the support of the people, whether they bring political stability, social progress, and improvement of people's livelihoods, and whether they contribute to the cause of human progress." The Western system of "separation of powers" originates from its traditional culture and the reality of multiple interest groups, and is also related to its market economy system; it does not possess universality. Since the end of the Cold War, some countries have experienced continuous turmoil precisely because they mechanically copied Western political systems. Many contradictions and conflicts in the world today stem from the desire of certain powerful nations to impose their social systems on others. The system of socialism with Chinese characteristics has guaranteed the steady advancement of Chinese-path modernization, proving its strong vitality with facts and enriching and developing modern human civilization. Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy advocates for respecting the diversity and unity of world civilizations, not imposing one's own values and models on others, and not engaging in ideological confrontation. This is the correct way for countries and nations to coexist.
Advocating for Mutual Learning Among Different Civilizations and Promoting the Inheritance and Innovation of Civilization
The diversity of the world drives exchange and mutual learning between different civilizations, which is a vital source of progress for human society. General Secretary Xi Jinping advocates for transcending the "clash of civilizations" through mutual learning, promoting dialogue between different civilizations and development models, and enabling civilizations to learn from one another's strengths through competition and comparison to achieve common progress. "The history of world civilization reveals a law: any civilization must advance with the times and continuously absorb the essence of the era. We should use innovation to add momentum to civilizational development and activate the source of progress, continuously creating civilizational achievements that transcend time and space and possess eternal charm." The reason Chinese civilization has a long and uninterrupted history is that it has continuously absorbed nutrients from exchanges with other civilizations, achieving innovation and radiating new vitality. This also provides an important reference for human society.
Civilization develops through inheritance and innovation, with mutual learning being a crucial path. The brilliant cultures created by people of all countries are the common precious wealth of humanity. The development and progress of any country are inseparable from the reference and absorption of the outstanding civilizational achievements of other countries and nations. Over the past 40-plus years of reform and opening up, China's modernization construction has achieved great success; the Chinese people have escaped poverty and led prosperous lives. This is largely due to the reference and absorption of the outstanding civilizational achievements of humanity, upon which a new form of human civilization has been created, achieving the modern transformation of fine traditional Chinese culture. "Harmony" (和 hé) and "Unity" (合 hé) are important characteristics of traditional Chinese culture, and peace and cooperation are also keywords in Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy. China's success in carving out a path for the rise of a major power through peaceful development illustrates that fine traditional Chinese culture can be transformed into a new culture adapted to the modern age. The inclusiveness, innovativeness, and peaceful nature inherent in Chinese civilization have become the common wealth of human civilization. Since the end of the Cold War, a group of emerging market countries have achieved rapid development through reform and removing obstacles, enhancing the overall strength of developing countries. This also serves as an excellent illustration of the importance of mutual learning.
Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy takes the building of a community with a shared future for humanity as its goal, reflecting the requirements of world development and pointing the way for the progress of human civilization. Following the end of the Cold War, the rapid development of economic globalization caused all nations to form a community of mutual dependence and shared destiny; however, Cold War and confrontational mentalities did not disappear. Promoting the building of a community with a shared future for humanity itself requires enabling different civilizations to coexist and achieving innovative development through equal exchange and mutual learning. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized: "Promoting the building of a community with a shared future for humanity is not about replacing one system with another, nor is it about replacing one civilization with another. Rather, it is about countries with different social systems, different ideologies, different histories and cultures, and different levels of development sharing symbiotic interests, shared rights, and shared responsibilities in international affairs, thereby creating the greatest common denominator [9] for building a better world." The construction of the China-Africa, China-Arab, China-Latin America, China-ASEAN, and China-Central Asia communities with a shared future is being actively advanced and has received broad support from the relevant countries. The Belt and Road Initiative proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping has become an important platform for promoting exchange and mutual learning among all countries and nations, as well as an important path for building a community with a shared future for humanity. In the ten years since the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed, 152 countries and 32 international organizations have joined, with all nations complementing each other's strengths and progressing together through exchange and mutual learning.
Constructing a New Type of Major-Power Relations and Enhancing the Effectiveness of Global Governance
Global governance is a significant civilizational achievement of human social development and an important means of ensuring the sustainable development of humanity. Conducting global governance requires coordination and cooperation among major powers. Faced with the conflicts, confrontations, and turbulence of today's world, both the peaceful coexistence of major powers and global governance appear extremely important. To this end, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed a vision of global governance based on extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, emphasizing the promotion of a new type of major-power relations.
Major-power relations directly affect the developmental direction of the world, concern the future of humanity, and moreover, determine whether global governance can be effective. In response to the complex changes occurring in major-power relations, General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized the need to construct a new type of major-power relations that differs from the conflict and confrontation of the Cold War era. The report to the 19th National Congress of the CPC proposed advancing major-power coordination and cooperation to construct a framework for major-power relations characterized by overall stability and balanced development. The report to the 20th National Congress further proposed promoting coordination and positive interaction among major powers to drive the construction of a pattern of major-power relations characterized by peaceful coexistence, overall stability, and balanced development. The addition of the keyword "peaceful coexistence" carries great practical significance. Against the backdrop of the protracted Ukraine crisis and the intensified contradictions between Russia and Europe, the United States, and NATO, it would threaten the survival of humanity if major powers were to move toward war or utilize nuclear weapons. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasizes that major powers must respect one another; most importantly, they must respect different civilizations and different social systems. Major powers need mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation to jointly advance human development and progress.
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasizes active participation in global governance, historically transforming the conceptions of the international order held by late-developing major powers and making China an important force for maintaining the existing international order. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Looking back at modern history, establishing a fair and rational international order has been the goal pursued unremittingly by humanity. From the principles of equality and sovereignty established by the Peace of Westphalia over 360 years ago, to the spirit of international humanitarianism established by the Geneva Convention over 150 years ago; from the four purposes and seven principles clarified by the UN Charter over 70 years ago, to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence [10] advocated by the Bandung Conference over 60 years ago—the evolution of international relations has accumulated a series of universally recognized principles. These principles should serve as the basic compliance for building a community with a shared future for humanity." The current international order was established around the end of the Second World War, reflecting the justice of the anti-fascist war and providing institutional arrangements to prevent the recurrence of a world war. China resolutely maintains the international system with the United Nations at its core, the international order based on international law, and the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. It proposes and practices the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative, ensuring the fairness and justice of the international order and promoting world peace and development.
Proceeding from the common interests of all humanity, General Secretary Xi Jinping creatively proposed the vision of global governance based on extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits. Under the backdrop of the "great changes" [11] and the long-term nature of the Ukraine crisis, global security governance appears particularly urgent. In April 2022, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed the Global Security Initiative, emphasizing the need to uphold a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security, to build a balanced, effective, and sustainable security architecture, and to strive to blaze a new path of security. In February 2023, the Chinese government officially released the Global Security Initiative Concept Paper, further explaining the core concepts and principles of the initiative and identifying 20 priority areas of cooperation and 5 cooperation platforms and mechanisms, providing solutions for resolving global security dilemmas. This has gained the appreciation and support of more than 80 countries and regional organizations. The Chinese government also released China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis and sent a special envoy to seek a path toward a peaceful resolution. Through China's efforts, the Saudi-Iran dialogue in Beijing was successfully held and reconciliation was achieved, serving as a successful practice of the Global Security Initiative. The active role played by China in achieving peace, stability, and security in the Middle East has been highly evaluated by the international community.
In short, Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy conforms to the trend of history and promotes the development and progress of human civilization. The concepts of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, win-win cooperation, fairness and justice, common security, mutual learning, and the preservation and innovation of heritage demonstrated in Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy achieve the Aufheben [12] and transcendence of traditional international relations theories, constituting a major contribution to the development of human civilization.
(Author: Zuo Fengrong, Vice President and Professor at the Institute of International Strategic Studies, Central Party School of the CPC (National Academy of Governance))