China Issues White Paper Calling for ‘A Global Community of Shared Future’
Sept. 27, 2023, (EIRNS)—Proclaiming that “the new era calls for new ideas,” the State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China issued a 40-page White Paper on Sept. 26 under the headline: “A Global Community of Shared Future: China’s Proposals and Actions.” It is a major policy document geared to address the unprecedented crisis facing mankind with a proposal for an entirely new set of international relations based on fundamental philosophical principles and a universal concept of man.
The timing of its release indicates it will be at the center of deliberations of the upcoming October Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing (no firm date has been made public yet). The paper notes: “By July 2023, more than three-quarters of countries in the world and over 30 international organizations had signed agreements on Belt and Road cooperation with China.... The BRI originated in China, but the opportunities and achievements it creates belong to the whole world.”
The document repeatedly stresses the universality of Mankind, as opposed to the Hobbesian war of each against all, as the key to solving to current crisis:
“In the universe there is only one Earth, the shared home of humanity.... Whether human civilization can survive these has become an existential issue that must be squarely faced.... The vision of a global community of shared future bears in mind the wellbeing of all humanity. It is based on both observation of the present and visionary planning for the future.... This vision serves the common interests of humanity....
“Our world is undergoing change on a scale unseen in a century.... Instability, uncertainty, and unpredictability are now the norm.... The shadow of the arms race lingers on, and the threat of nuclear war—the Sword of Damocles that hangs over humanity—remains. Our world is at risk of plunging into confrontation and even war....
“Some countries’ hegemonic, abusive, and aggressive actions against others, in the form of swindling, plundering, oppression, and the zero-sum game, are causing great harm....
“The new era calls for new ideas.... It is increasingly obvious that the idea that ‘all strong countries will seek hegemony,’ the obsession with superior strength, and the zero-sum mentality are in conflict with the needs of our times.... The strong preying on the weak is not a way for humans to coexist. If the law of the jungle is imposed on human society, and the idea that ‘might makes right’ prevails, the principle of sovereign equality will be fundamentally undermined, and world peace and stability will be severely endangered....
“Standing at a crossroads, humanity is faced with two opposing options. One is to revert to the Cold War mentality that deepens division and antagonism and stokes confrontation between blocs. The other is to act for the common wellbeing of humanity, strengthen solidarity and cooperation, advocate openness and win-win results, and promote equality and respect. The tug of war between these two options will shape the future of humanity and our planet in a profound way....
“Harmony is the core concept of Chinese culture, which values the primacy of harmony and harmony within diversity, pursues the ideal of harmony and solidarity towards common progress, and embraces cultural diversity and global harmony.... incorporating the outstanding achievements of other civilizations.... Ancient Greek philosophers conducted primary research on this concept based on city-states, believing that humanity as one community should act in concert to pursue common interests and thus must live in harmony. Ancient Indian literature records the motto of ‘Under Heaven—one family.’ The African philosophy of Ubuntu holds that ‘I am because we are,’ emphasizing interdependence of humanity. The concept of a global community of shared future reflects the common interests of all civilizations—peace, development, unity, coexistence, and win-win cooperation....
“From the principle of equity and sovereignty established by the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, to international humanitarianism established by the Geneva Conventions in 1864, then to the four purposes and seven principles established by the Charter of the United Nations in 1945, and later to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence proposed at the Bandung Conference in 1955, these norms of international relations have evolved into widely recognized principles and become the essential foundations of a global community of shared future....
“China has pushed for the conclusion of a joint statement among the leaders of the five nuclear-weapon states, reaffirming that ‘a nuclear war cannot be won, and must never be fought’....
“When all countries unite in pursuing the cause of common good, plan together, and act together day by day towards the right direction of building a global community of shared future, we can build an open, inclusive, clean, and beautiful world of lasting peace, universal security and shared prosperity, and jointly create a better future for all of humanity.”
