Firmly Establishing a Sense of Community of Shared Future for Mankind

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Firmly Establishing a Sense of Community of Shared Future for Mankind

By Liu Jianwu and Lu Kaiwu,

Research Center of Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics of Hunan province

Socialism with Chinese characteristics is the socialism of peaceful development, and socialist cause with Chinese characteristics is the cause for all-win cooperation with all countries in the world. In order to co-ordinate both the domestic and international overall situations, both peace and development issues, promote mutually benefit and all-win outcomes and the sound interaction between the Chinese dream and the world dream, General Secretary Xi Jinping puts forward the important thinking of building a community of shared future for mankind, having raised the understanding of establishment of a new international order to a new realm, pioneered the new journey of a major country diplomacy with the Chinese characteristics, and written a new chapter for the Belt and Road construction.

To establish a sense of community of shared future for mankind is an inevitable requirement conforming to the historical mega-trend of human society

Mega-age requires mega-architecture, mega-architecture requires mega-wisdom. In today world of an important period of great development, change and adjustment, the concept of putting forward and advocating a community of shared future for mankind conforms to the realistic requirements of the era development and the inevitable trend of historical development.

To establish the sense of a community of shared future for mankind is an inevitable choice conforming to the development trend of today's world. With deepening development of economic globalization, the global overall correlation gets increasingly close, the interests and future of various countries and regions have never been so closely linked, forming a pattern of rising together and falling together. The solutions to a series of major international issues are no longer dependent solely on bilateral cooperation and exchanges, but more on multilateral coordination and communication. As General Secretary Xi Jinping says that in this world, interconnectivity and interdependence of various countries are unprecedentedly deepened, the human race lives in the same village of Mother Earth, and in the same time and space intersection of history and reality, and increasingly becomes a community of shared future. This proposed concept of community of shared future for mankind conforms to the era trend of peace, development, cooperation and all-win situation in the world today, and fits into the common aspirations of all countries to seek peace, development and cooperation.

The sense to establish the community of shared future for mankind is an inevitable conclusion to sum up the development experience and lessons of world history. Since the 20th Century, human beings have achieved amazing development and great progress, also experienced brutal hot wars and the cold war, the disaster and the harm caused by the two world wars are not far away. The historical experience tells us that prejudice and discrimination as well as hatred and war can only bring about untold disasters and sufferings. Only mutual respect, equal treatment to each other and common development are the only right choice for mankind to bid farewell to pain and to march toward a brighter future. Although peace and development have become the themes of the times, the world is not peaceful, and the "sword of Damocles" is still hanging above the human kind. "For peace, we must firmly establish the sense of a community of shared future for mankind." With a new concept of a community of shared future for mankind, to seek wisdom and nourishment from different civilizations as well as to solve all kinds of problems and challenges facing humanity is a profound inspiration and enlightenment of development of world history in nearly a hundred years.

To establish the sense of community of shared future for mankind is an inevitable choice to inherit and carry forward the fine traditional culture of China. One of the important reasons why the Chinese traditional culture has been lasting and handed down from generation to generation is that it is a culture that advocates equal exchanges, peaceful coexistence and mutual cooperation. The Chinese nation always cherishes peace, adheres to the diplomatic exchanges that "a strong should not oppress a weak, many should not prey few, a rich should not bully a poor", advocates "maintaining righteousness for the world" "keeping harmony with all nations", advances "big seas taking water from all rivers," promotes "doing not unto others as you would not have them do unto you", upholds "maintaining harmony with neighbors" and "harmony without sameness", yearns for "peaceful coexistence among various countries". General Secretary Xi Jinping points out: For thousands of years, peace has been integrated into the blood of the Chinese nation and carved into the genes of the Chinese people." The consciousness of the sense of community of shared future for mankind originates from the historical tradition and cultural gene of pursuing peaceful cooperation.

The key to establishing the sense of a community of shared future for mankind is to take action

A grandeur idea requires great practice. To establish a sense of a community of shared future for mankind, understanding is the prerequisite, but the key is to take action. The international community should firmly move forward in a direction of partnership, architecture for security, economic development, cultural exchanges and ecological construction.

Politically, establish a partnership of equal treatment, mutual understanding and mutual consultation. All countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are equal members of the international community. Those major countries should treat small ones as equals and adhere to non-conflict and non-confrontation, as well as mutual respect and all-win cooperation among them. It is normal for various countries to have conflicts, differences and disputes. We should initiate a dialogue to resolve disputes and resolve differences through consultation. Mutual negotiation and mutual understanding should be the basic method of modern international governance and pioneer a new way of communication between countries, featuring dialogue without confrontation, and partnership without alliance.

On security issues, build a fair and just security architecture with joint contribution and shared benefits. Nowadays, human kind is faced with many difficulties and challenges. The traditional security threats, non-traditional security threats and global challenges are intertwined, so that the security of various countries is interrelated and influenced each other. No country can achieve its own absolute security by virtue of its own power, nor any country can reap its own harmony and stability from the turmoil of other countries. All countries should work together to cope with all kinds of problems and challenges, change the crisis into vitality, pioneer a new path for security featuring joint contribution, shared benefits, all-win outcomes and common protection, and build a world of universal security.

Economically, seek open, innovative, inclusive and mutually beneficial development prospects. The history of world economic development proves that opening up brings progress, and closure can only lead to backwardness. In order to solve the problems and challenges facing the world economy, we have to work hard to keep opening up and innovate growth modes. If returning to the outdated ways of shifting ones troubles onto others, there is no way to get rid of the current crisis and recession, on the contrary reduce the common space for the world economic development, lead to loss-loss situation. Global economic governance should follow the principle of openness and mutual benefit, so as to achieve the goal of all-win cooperation.

Culturally, promote cultural exchanges of harmony without sameness and mutual learning. Cultural diversity is the basic characteristic of human society. Different civilizations embody the wisdom and contribution of different nations, there should be no distinction between superiority and inferiority, but only between characteristics and between regions. Cultural differences should not be the root cause of world conflicts, and what civilizations need is dialogue instead of rejection, communication instead of substitution. Harmony without sameness is the basic spirit of dealing with different civilizations, and hatred and prejudice are the biggest obstacles to exchanges between civilizations. We should respect all civilizations and promote exchanges and dialogue among civilizations, peaceful coexistence and harmonious symbiosis.

Ecologically, build an ecological system which respects nature and green development. The relationship between man and nature is the most basic relationship in human society. In this world of nature, we should not only stress "taking" instead of "protecting", "just using" instead of "constructing". Many countries in the world, including some developed countries, have gone through the old ways of "pollution first and governance later", so they created enormous material wealth, but also paid heavy environmental costs, and the lessons are very profound. Ecological prosperity leads to civilization vitality, while ecological destruction leads to decline of a civilization. The world should follow the harmony philosophy between man and nature, firmly establish awareness on respect for nature, adaptability with nature, and conservation of nature, advocate green, low-carbon, recycling, sustainable production and life styles, marching forward on the path to sustainable development for mankind

To establish a sense of community of shared future for mankind should guide economic globalization in the right direction

Currently, the economic globalization has entered a periodical adjustment, and there are those who support it, those who doubt it, and those who linger around. We can not stop taking steps for progress because of temporary difficulties and problems, neither can we reverse the history and engage in "de-globalization"". To establish a sense of community of shared future for mankind, a pressing task now is to unswervingly push forward economic globalization in a more rational, inclusive and universal direction.

In order to build community awareness of shared future for mankind, we must take a clear-cut stand against protectionism to shift troubles to neighbors. The current world economic recovery is still fragile, some national policies show strengthened inward-looking and exclusive tendency, and protectionism rears its head. History has proved that there is no way out for protectionism. In the economic globalization of today, protectionism to restrict activities and get benefits at the expense of others is not feasible. The right choice is to work together and develop together so as to push the process of economic globalization in more dynamic, inclusive and sustainable direction.

In order to build community awareness of shared future for mankind, we must unequivocally oppose the zero-sum game that you lose and I win. In international community, some people regard the returns of economic globalization as a zero-sum game and think that the gains of other countries are the losses of their own countries and the growth of other countries is the decline of their own countries. The result of this narrow understanding must be to abandon cooperation, deny economic globalization, and even build a barrier to communication with the outside world. This idea of seeking only national development interests without regard to other countries' legitimate concerns and attempting to remain immune is divorced from reality. Only by adhering to cooperation and all-win outcomes, can we get rid of the old thinking of zero-sum game.

In order to build community awareness of shared future for mankind, we must unequivocally oppose unilateralist approach. The sovereignty system with the United Nations as the core is an important achievement of human political civilization after World War II, but there are also some unfair and irrational arrangements. In this regard, reforms should be carried out so as to improve them rather than reinvent them. We should uphold multilateralism, safeguard the authority and effectiveness of the multilateral system, and resolve differences and contradictions through dialogue and consultation, so as to push forward the international order in a more just and rational orientation.

In order to build community awareness of shared future for mankind, we must unequivocally oppose the Cold War mentality of forming alliance for confrontation. The Cold War that we experienced in the last century had brought great damage and pain to mankind. In today's world, some people enter the 21st century on their legs while their heads remain in the old framework of Cold War thinking. In reality, the old international political models such as the confrontational military alliance, the sphere of influence, the agents and the protectorates, etc. still have certain market. To build community awareness of shared future for mankind, we cannot engage in close and exclusive arrangements, nor draw the demarcation simply with the social system, ideology and values. Nobody should have its own path of development as a statue, nor impose the national path of development onto others.

General Secretary Xi Jinping points out: the relationship between various countries has never been so close, the world people's yearning for a better life has never been as strong as it is today, the means of mankind to overcome difficulties have never been so rich. As long as the international community has joined hands and firmly established community awareness of shared future for mankind, it will surely make the world a better place and people happier .

(The excerpts of the article in Guangming Daily, 26 June 2017)