China’s Diplomacy in the New Era Revisiting Global Development Trend and International Relations from a New Perspective and New Approach

China’s Diplomacy in the New Era Revisiting Global Development Trend and International Relations from a New Perspective and New Approach

By Yu Hongjun, Vice President of the CPAPD, Chief Researcher of the Charhar Institute

In June 2018, the Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs was held, which is an important event in comprehensively boosting major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics. General Secretary Xi Jinping summarized China’s theoretical innovation and practical outcomes in foreign affairs since the 18thCPC National Congress. He stressed the importance of adopting a right approach to history, to the overall situation and to China’s role in assessing international developments, which provide guidance and goals for development of international relations theory system and improve the innovative and working effect of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics and carry far-reaching significance.

I. Only by following and upholding the right approach to history, can we accurately command the basic principles of human society development and the current global trend.

The year 2018 marks the 200thanniversary of Karl Marx’s birth and the 170thanniversary of the Communist Manifesto’s publication, which is also the 170thanniversary of the outbreak of Bourgeois Revolution in 1848 and 100thanniversary of the end of WWI. Looking back at such a period of magnificent history with ups and downs, people with different political stance, observation perspective and cognitive level would hold different views and conclusions, sometimes develop contrary, or even opposite ideas. Marx and Engels, in this process, actively participated in the then labor movement, examined and studied social problems, and thus gradually became great philosophers and revolutionaries by integrating theories and practice. The Communist League led by Marx and Engels, became the first proletarian party in the world. The Communist Manifesto written by them, offered great spiritual power, fueling vibrate communist movements and socialism process for generations to come.

The Bourgeois Revolution in 1848 heavily shook the European feudal governance. The wind of modern democracy was blowing to every corner of the world therefore. After the Revolution failed, Marx and Engels continued to carry out study on political economics in a more systemic way, working to further reveal the truth and development law of capitalism., published in 1867. explores the fundamental principles behind human society development and specific principles for capitalism operation, meanwhile indicates the due leapfrog from Necessity Realm to Freedom Realm, thus unveiling the path to lead people to freedom and liberation.

The Paris workers uprising in 1871 left behind valuable revolutionary principles and spirits. Marx and Engels, in the course of summarizing the experience of the Paris Commune and pushing forward labor movements in various countries, also learnt from European classical philosophy, political economics and utopian socialism, further enriched and developed Marxist theory system. Over the past century, Marxism offers great spiritual power for people to better understand and rebuild the world and to continue exploration of contemporary topics and respond to new challenges facing human society.

The World War I in 1914 was a concentrative eruption of various conflicts during the transition period from capitalism era to imperialism era, an extremely dirty war of imperialism. Russian Bolsheviks who initiated the October Revolution, spurred democratic revolutionary movements among oppressed peoples across Asian, African and Latin American continents. The victory of October Revolution and the founding of Soviet Union initially changed the world architecture ruled unilaterally by capitalism, and created a brand new start for human history. After the end of WWI, the Versailles System established by Western countries, brought about a transnational cooperation organization, i.e. the League of Nations. The first socialist country Soviet Union gradually achieved peaceful coexistence with Western countries. However, such order and architecture dominated by Western countries, collapsed completely with the outbreak of WWII triggered by rising Fascism. After the end of WWII, a series of socialist countries were founded in Eurasian continents. The founding of People’s Republic of China strengthened world socialist camp especially. Meanwhile, more and more Asian and Latin American countries won independence and liberation, accelerating the collapse of imperialistic colonial system. The bright prospect of equality and common development among various countries gradually came into being.

Ever since the birth of Marxism over the past two centuries, especially since a century after the end of WWI, the human society has undergone profound changes in the world. Under such circumstances, we need more than ever to carefully study and apprehend General Secretary Xi Jinping thought of using the telescope of history to look into the future and command the trend of the times based on the review of history and summary of historical law. Only in this way, can we ravel out historical fabric among series of events and straighten out the course of major event, can we set our minds on and better uphold the theme of the times, i.e. peace and development in the course of international political upheaval, and can we stick to the scientific outlook of common development and win-win cooperation desired by the international community when confronted with constant geopolitical conflicts and complex interests game-play.

II. Only by following and upholding the right approach to the overall situation, can we have a scientific grasp of the changing balance of power and the trend of international relations.

After the end of WWII, the global governance system based on the Yalta Agreement and supported by a series of multilateral institutions pillared by the UN came into being. However, the law of the jungle still exists in the international affairs. During the four decades after that, there were fierce struggles between socialism and capitalism, namely between two social systems, between two development directions and between two values systems. Socialism is surging high with strength across the world. More and more developing countries regard socialism as their development direction for development goal. The left wing within Western countries initiate waves of social movements opposing capital oppression. Facing internal and external pressure, some capitalistic countries started to introduce some socialist factors in their relations of production and social realm. Western countries enjoyed a golden period of development for several decades. Meanwhile the rapid progress of scientific revolution and accelerated economic globalization strengthen exchanges and contacts among various countries, which unprecedentedly demonstrate the universal development interests, common security interests and unity for mankind future more than ever.

The world strategic framework, geopolitical strategic posture and overall development path have changed profoundly since late 1980s and early 1990s. There is a historical low tide of socialism in the world. To put it in a comprehensive and objective way, the collapse of the former Soviet Union and tremendous change of Eastern Europe resulted from various causes, ranging from history to reality, from internal to external factors, from theory to practice and from contingency to necessities. But the fundamental reasons are the serious defects of internal mechanisms, a long-term arrogance and remaining idle to progress, structuring a “parallel market” based on the camp confrontation theory, and getting lost in the reform process. The United States, as the only superpower in the world in the post-cold war era, its overall strength was leading far ahead of other countries. The NATO eastward expansion and EU’s eastward expansion further tipped the balance of international strength, and one after another new contradictions emerged. To some extent, it is only benign wishes of people for relaxation rather than tension, dialogue rather than confrontation and cooperation rather than conflict.

Ever since the 21stcentury, the trend of global multi-polarization, economic globalization, social IT application, cultural diversity as well as development model diversity are inevitable. People’s expectations for peaceful development and aspirations for win-win cooperation are stronger than ever. The exchanges of economics and trade, cultural cooperation, security dialogue, as well as science and technology exchanges are more active than ever. The trend and features of profound development, change and reform are getting more obvious than ever. Meanwhile, common problems facing mankind are increasing as well. In recent years, populism, nationalism, racism, isolationism and protectionism in trade and investment are pushed by various countries, thus having become a fashionable fever. Donald Trump, after taking office, over and over again has willfully posed challenges toward existing international order and norms for international relations, having pushed the American hegemony to a new height. The global situation is highly unstable, uncertain and unpredictable.

We, standing at the historical crossroads of which way to go, must follow General Secretary Xi Jinping that we not only notice phenomena and details, but also command the essence and whole picture, grasp the major contradiction and the main aspects of the contradiction to avoid losing the direction and attending trifles to the neglect of essentials in the complex and dramatic international situation.

It is this overall dialectical approach to the world that accords with the times that the CPC members in the new era are able to develop a series of new thinking and concepts on the holistic human society, unity of world civilization, common development interests and security interests sharing by transcending ideological difference, social systems difference, different identity of national culture, development stages and time-space distance. These new concepts and ideas become the solidest foundation for a major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics and are successfully reflected in the course of more and more diplomatic practice.

III. Only by establishing and following the right approach to China’s role, can we understand better relations between China and outside world, and better fulfill China’s mission and duties.

Since the Opium War, China had lagged behind Western countries and the development gap was widened constantly due to its long-term close-door policy and separation from the international community. In the early days of New China, because of various factors, China followed one-sided foreign policy toward the socialist Camp. China was repelled from the UN until the 1970s so that China had to mainly depend on itself in lieu of external assistance for its national construction, thus its recognition and understanding about the outside world was very limited, by the same token, recognition and understanding of the outside world about China was shallow and superficial. After the reform and opening-up, the CPC had successfully combined Marxist principles with Chinese social reality, thus having achieved historical progress in modernization process. Entering the new century, exchanges and cooperation between China and the outside world are increasingly more extensive and closer. As General Secretary Xi Jinping puts it, the face of the CPC, China, the Chinese people, the Chinese nation as well as the PLA all have undertaken profound changes; the Chinese nation stands at the East of the world with a brand new look.

The success of socialism with Chinese characteristics and modernization achievements mean not only the bright prospect for achieving the Chinese national rejuvenation, but also the vitality and dynamics for scientific socialism in the new century. The path, theory, system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics have realized great development, depicting new options for those countries that want to accelerate development while maintaining national independence, thus having made contributions to addressing human problems with Chinese wisdom and program. The idea of “China and the world need each other” has become a consensus not only among the Chinese people, but also of the international community, which becomes one of the most important factor for developing international relations.

In recent years, the major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics has been unfolded all-dimensionally. China and the world are moving toward and embracing each other with positive interactions. Such positive interactions have become not only the theme of Chinese relations with the outside world, but also impetus for changes of international relations and world architecture. The Belt and Road Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013 has gradually become the century cause featured by China-leadership, connected development and integrated development widely participated by various countries, and indisputably proves the above points. In this process, China’s international standing and role continue to deepen its historic changes. The CPC, the greatest political party with the largest number of members and the longest ruling time, comes up with new awareness, thinking and judgment about its historical position, historical mission, the Chinese nation as well as international obligations and duties.

The world affairs is sophisticated and changing with intertwined instability, uncertainty and unpredictability, which will remain the major feature of changing international relations and world architecture. To acquire a correct role in viewing the international situation and handling diplomacy, China should not only analyze various international phenomenon sober-mindedly, but also view its role in the context of its relations with the rest of the world so as to clearly define its position and role in an evolving global environment and adopt sound policies for pursuing China’s diplomacy.

(Edited excerpt of the article inNo. 6, 2018 )